I wrote recently about how, with the great blessing of free will, we can and should steer our minds and use them to rule over our bodies. Today’s short post relates to the priorities of thought.
It constantly amazes me how shallow most peoples’ thought processes are-and that by intention. I can’t say I’ve done a scientific study on this, unless you count a lifetime of the observation of human nature as being scientific, but it’s pretty clear to me that on the surface at least, a large majority of people think no further than shallow and temporal everyday issues related to physical needs: work, what to eat for dinner, what so-and-so is wearing today, and how I can gain some sort of romantic leverage over those I’m attracted to. For the most part if you venture so far as to mention anything of lasting-or dare I say “eternal” value-many will either try to move away from you or look at you like you have two heads.
We can discuss which movies we’ve seen at great length; we can gossip about what so-and-so said the other day; we can talk about our new car or what happened on the way to work, but we can’t talk about where humanity came from, why we are here or where we are going. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with discussing the movies or cars or the journey to work-it’s all stuff that makes the world go around-but to reject the profound and wrap ourselves up only in the relatively trivial is doing a great injustice to ourselves and to our Maker.
Is there a God? To me, this is the most fundamental and important topic of conversation we could possibly engage in-and I would add fascinating-yet I would guess that eight out of ten people will sneer at the hint of any such conversation. Is there life after death, and if so, how do we ensure that we will have it? Why do people die? These questions are of far more value and significance than what so-and-so said about his new shoes, but such subjects are almost taboo in most circles. Why?
Perhaps one answer is that the majority we’re considering has already decided that the scientist has it all figured out: we are matter only, and if (ha) we ever were to pass away we would just become a small and insignificant heap of chemicals. It seems most people have already accepted without a fight or any real debate or research for their own satisfaction that there’s no meaning to life beyond temporal achievement, pleasure and procreation.
Perhaps the thought of eternal or lasting things is just too painful to consider. Death and disease are nasty, uncomfortable things and you should only mention them when the absolute worst happens. In closed minds there can be no ultimate truth to attain to or to seek, so any attempt to discuss the causes of suffering or possible answers to those deep questions only causes discomfort, like ripping a bandage off a wound and poking it with a sharp stick.
From my perspective those painful questions should be on everyone’s minds until they have answers. Every one of us will die and will likely get very sick in the process: why trust the answers to people who are already committed to naturalistic explanations for things? They’ve closed their minds-why should we close ours? Surely, the origin, the meaning and the ultimate destination of life is the most important subject we could possibly imagine.
Take the message of the Christian gospel for example. The writers of the New Testament and many following them-including Jesus Christ himself-claimed that we must as individuals seek our Creator, turn from our ways, and accept God’s sacrifice for our sins (Jesus Christ) or we are by default and by nature doomed to a lost eternity, and there is no lasting life in us. Isn’t it a good idea to spend at least a little part of our lives attempting to find out if there’s any truth to this? Isn’t there value in at least hoping this is a route to eternal life? Wouldn’t it be wise to consider the testimony of believers along with the blanket condemnation and mockery of unbelievers? Could it just be that those who’ve committed themselves to naturalistic explanations don’t deserve to lead the rest of us with their hopelessness? Is it just possible that they’ve got it all wrong?
