Tuesday, 09 December 2008

Love the Lord Your God with all Your MIND

Lately I've been reading something different. I took a tour through some of Ted Dekker's books for a while to see what they're like (Tom Clancy if written with a Christianized twist) and then read The Promise by Robert Morgan, which examines the possibilities of living life with a Romans 8:28 attitude. I could go on about both, but I'd rather not distract myself, because I do that easily enough when I write online.

Right now I'm reading Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr. It's a collection of sermons that he gave at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and Ebenezer Baptist Church and after reading just a few of them so far... I'm honestly ashamed didn't do the reading I was assigned from this text while I was in "Models of Christian Spirituality" back at Hope. It's good stuff, and it reminds me of how, even though he's most famous for being a civil rights icon, he was still, at his roots, a pastor.

I'd venture most children in elementary schools learn at least a few things about Martin Luther King, Jr. around his birthday. They learn about how he was an iconic figure in the Civil Rights movement, about how he stood up for the rights of his fellow men and led the March on Washington. And some might know he was a great admirer of Mohandas Gandhi. And of course, it's pretty well known that he was murdered.

But his theology is what the book I'm currently reading centers around, and that's what has me so fascinated right now. Like I said, I've enjoyed reading it so far. One of the things he talked about was the idea that most people in America have little issue with the concept of loving the Lord with all their hearts and souls. And even their strength, though the concept might be a little bit obtuse. But what about the mind?

Dr. King suggested the pursuit of knowledge is a mandate from the Bible itself. Luke 10:27 states, "He [Jesus] answered: ' "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind"; and, "Love your neighbor as yourself." ' " That's a clear mandate that, along with our heart and soul, we don't get the option of letting our minds go by the wayside. Simply put... ignorance, or as Martin Luther King, Jr. even more directly put it, stupidity, is not an option for the Christian Church. Paul also said in Romans 10:2 regarding those in opposition to him that, "... they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge." The people who stood in Paul's way that King is citing weren't inherently bad people. Chances are, they were good people. They wanted to serve God. Unfortunately, they lacked the knowledge that Paul had, and therefore, they only hindered the spreading of the Gospel of Christ. To me, that sounds almost worse than purposefully trying to stop the spread of the Gospel. To want to try and help the cause of God's Kingdom and instead, all you are is an impedence. That's enough to make anyone want to just die. Thankfully, Paul's message still spread.

I'm not saying knowledge is everything. It isn't. It's only one piece of how we're supposed to love and serve Christ. But as a body of believers, I sometimes sense that we get so caught up in the heart and soul (the will to serve and Who the service is for) aspect as well as strength (actually going out and doing something) that the mind/thinking aspect gets thrown out. The mind is seen as something reserved for the scholars and other like-minded people who lock themselves high in the ivory tower of academia. "Let them do the thinking! That's way over my head," some may say.

Dr. King would say no, and he offers a good reason why. "The heart can never be right if the head is totally wrong." He didn't mean obtaining a stack of college degrees and thousands of dollars in student loans. Instead, he meant pursuing truth, defending oneself against gullibility, and being open-minded. That's something that anyone can do, regardless of education. More importantly, Dr. King says, when we truly love the Lord our God with all our minds as well as our hearts, souls, and strength, we set ourselves apart from those who stoned His apostles.

Comments(1)

Hello Major General,
You made your site simple yet elegant. I see that God is foremost in your mind as you go about your daily activities. Now is a good time! I recommend the one true God, Jehovah.
I want to help people to really get to know God, especially in these troubled times. Here is an important message for all of us from the Bible: 17 You make God tired with all your talk. "How do we tire him out?" you ask. By saying, "God loves sinners and sin alike. God loves all." And also by saying, "Judgment? God's too nice to judge." (Malachi 2:17) (Message Bible)

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