Mental Transformation

“Do not be con­formed to this world, but be trans­formed by the renewal of your mind.” The Apos­tle Paul

I teach courses that include a lot of polit­i­cal sci­ence. Polit­i­cal sci­ence is bor­ing because it only has two themes: power and con­trol. No mat­ter what the the­ory, the end results are the same: power and con­trol. It is all a big yawner but an aca­d­e­mic neces­sity. I am with C.S. Lewis “Chris­tian­ity is the only really inter­est­ing thing in his­tory.” The rest is predictable.

“The world” is one trance. It repeats its nar­row themes end­lessly. The faces change, but the pur­poses remain. Bor­ing! It is all about the pyra­mids of power and con­trol. Whether it hides behind elec­tions or in secret smoke-filled rooms, it is the same game plan.

Spir­i­tual renewal is about turn­ing the pyra­mid upside down. The ser­vant becomes the mas­ter. God is on the side of the mar­gin­al­ized. “The last become first.” (Jesus of Nazareth).

There is good news here. When you grasp the renewal con­cept you come out on top — even if it looks like you are on the bot­tom. It is all about per­spec­tive. The human world and God’s world are not the same. When you catch the vision of the lat­ter, you are free from the former.

The repeated ref­er­ence points from the world never change. They are as pre­dictable and as dilap­i­dated as the pyra­mids of ancient cul­tures. A select group of peo­ple watch in amuse­ment as it is repeated time and again.

Yawn!

The world is at it again, but a few of us are find­ing real life in another perspective.