I'm always ranting about how Christians focus too much on sin: trying to overcome it, avoiding it, encouraging others to stop it, etc. So, again, I was ranting this morning to a friend of mine (I'm always unsure if people really want to hear my rants... so I try to keep them in my blog). I started talking about how my husband and I keep each other accountable in different ways, saying things like, "Are you resting?" or "How are you feeling?" and trying to take care of each others' needs, rather than asking each other about sin areas. I said to my friend, "If you're healthy, you're less likely to even want to 'sin'." and she thought for a moment and replied, "you mean, if you're spiritually healthy." I responded, "yes."
That got me thinking. When I said "healthy" I meant, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. It never occurred to me to specify "spiritually" because I don't separate these from each other. They are simply four areas of our overall health. I suppose you can separate those things in your mind. Yes, its possible to be spiritually healthy and physically unhealthy. And yes, it's also possible to be physically healthy yet spiritually dead... But in my mind, lacking health in any of the four areas means you're just not healthy.
Each aspect of health (spiritual, physical, emotional, mental) affects the other. I talk about the effects of stress quite a bit, because I feel people dismiss it too much. When you are sleep-deprived, overworked, stressed out, and tired, you literally are blocked from some ability to engage in higher brain functions. When you are in that unhealthy state, your brain focuses its attention to the impulsive, instinctual part of your brain, and leaves the frontal lobe with less function. Your intuition, moral judgment, self-discipline and self-control are all managed in the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe enables you to override impulses and base desires. When that is weakened, of course you're going to struggle more with "sinning". You've put yourself at a disadvantage.
Now, I understand there are times in which we just have to work hard, and sleep gets put on hold. I'm in that state right now. I'm not condemning anyone here. I'm simply pointing out that good physical health puts us at an emotional, spiritual, and mental advantage, and bad health puts us at a disadvantage. There is a direct correlation between our spirit, mind, and body.
When I'm tired or stressed or emotionally spent, I eat more, do less, and that which I do is of less quality. Plus I don't care about the quality so much because I'm just plain tired. I love my philosophy class, but I do not care about what Euthyphro said to Socrates when it's two in the morning and I just want to sleep. When I'm depressed, I'm not thinking about how I can be there for my loved ones, I'm thinking about how I want them to be there for me. I'm a vortex rather than a wellspring. When I'm hurting, I tend to build up walls and I'm mean to others, snappy even. After a week of constant sleep-deprivation, I start to get in this survival mode in which it's easy to prioritize tasks
because I only do the things which are absolutely necessary at the
moment. Laundry piles up, dishes get crusty, and I start getting sick. The mess makes it more difficult for me to focus. Then when I finally get a full night of rest, I don't have a constant headache, and I almost don't know what to do with my time. But it takes a bit to get back into the swing of things.
When I'm well-rested, I'm productive, positive, and what I do is quality. I am able to get ahead, cook delicious foods, prioritize and manage my time, get things done and enjoy doing them. I feel good about myself, and I look better. More than that, I have the capacity for self-control. I don't sit on the couch and veg-out watching TV shows because I have too much energy. I am nice and thoughtful to my husband and my friends. I find myself able to focus. And I don't gain weight so easily
There is no sin where there is no need. When we have needs, we seek them out. Without our higher brain function, we can't override base impulses. And those impulses become stronger when those needs become greater.
That is how Dustin and I keep each other accountable. We help take care of each others' needs, and we trust God to fill those spiritual needs that we can't fulfill for each other. And I feel it is really the most effective way.
I used to be that leader who would ask about all the trouble areas in a person. I have seen for myself that it simply doesn't work. Once in a while it can be therapeutic--sometimes we need to get stuff off of our chest--but week after week? There are some things you can encourage a person to do, and you can even find fulfillment in it, but it's a slow and painful process. Years of confessing sins and praying for strength... And there's always a sense of condemnation or depression, even the temptation to feel superior to someone who struggles in an area you don't. Focusing on the failures just brings out the worst in them. Only when I began to encourage those people did I see true growth. When they believed they were a son or daughter of God, they acted like one. When they believed they were a sinner, they acted like one. And as I encouraged them, I was able to see them in a more positive light.
One encouraging word has infinitely more effectiveness than a hundred corrective words. If someone is able to overcome sin, it's because God did it. Why should I continuously put that burden back onto the shoulders of the one from whom God removed it?
I have a huge beef with the idea of "accountability" partners. If a friend became my accountability partner and always asked me, "how are you doing in 'that' area of
temptation?" (with the best of intentions) it would change the dynamic
of our relationship. I would be vulnerable and open at first, but the
longer I struggled with that thing, every time she asked, I would be
tempted to lie, or after a while I just stopped saying anything because,
gosh-darn-it, I should be over this by now. Isn't accountability
supposed to help me? I'd start focusing on that area of temptation and
how badly, or how well I was doing. And I'd be more likely to keep
thinking about those things... And I'd associate that sin with that
friend, because she was always asking about it. Then I'd stop wanting to
be around her. Why have an accountability partner who is only going to
remind you of your struggles? Many a deep friendship of mine has slowly
disintegrated this way. That question, "How are you doing in 'that'
area" carries with it the power of suggestion. What you focus on becomes
your reality (I credit George Lucas for that quote from Quigon Jin in
Star Wars). If I'm focused on sin, well, I'm going to struggle with it.
"What a man thinks in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7) And then if I
find that the sin stops becoming a struggle, I might be tempted to take
credit for God's work in me and become proud of myself. I might be
tempted to think I've earned something. Who needs Jesus, right?
But back to health... (see, I really am always ranting about how we focus too much on sin). Be healthy. Don't neglect your physical health (people tend to do that). It affects your mind, your emotions, and your spirit. They are not separate entities, but parts of the same. It doesn't help to separate them. You only have one body. Take care of it.
Now that I've said all of this, remember that it is Christ who does the good in us. Trust Him. We must take care of ourselves, but we are never able to do anything righteous without God Himself moving through us. Give Him your burden of sin, and stop carrying it.
