Mark Eckel, Director, Mahseh Center, Lake Bruce, IN 

I go through violent withdrawal after football season.  Trauma begins when I tune in to CBS or Fox on Sunday afternoon only to find cameras fixated on professional basketball or golf.  So it was with great joy that I received an assignment from a football coach who wanted me to find problems with his team’s offense.  “I need quality control,” he began. “You know football.  I need you to be another pair of eyes on the field.” 

Consultation, an external overview of an organization’s practices, is a booming business.  Companies concerned with corruption or improvement hire firms whose task it is to provide unbiased observation.  Auditors oversee bank business.  Independent examinations maintain compliance for tax attorneys.  Newspapers have ombudsmen to scrutinize the news.  Patients get “a second opinion” after one doctor’s diagnosis.  TSA personnel scour baggage and “wand” passengers prior to airline departures.  Quality control in manufacturing can be seen attached to purchases from department stores: “this garment checked by inspector #9.”  Diamonds are appraised.  Homework is graded.  Inventories are inspected.  Oversight is culturally woven in our eyesight.  

But we cry “Who are you to tell me?!”  We hate outside authority in our personal lives.  Americans tend to agree with our country’s first flag: a snake was segmented into thirteen colonies with the caption “Don’t tread on me!”  Yet our national hypocrisy is clear when we believe the latest chatter from Oprah or listen to a Hollywood actor’s political views. 

Authority upon which middlebrow culture rested is gone, replaced by celebrity.  Criticism, once a profession with gatekeepers, is now the enthusiastic avocation of anyone with an Internet connection, and authority is bestowed by sales figures, not deans of culture. . . . Technology has trumped teleology, and when we feel the need to assuage our feelings of cultural inferiority, we don’t buy 50 feet of books.  We buy an iPod.  We are keen to signal our mastery of information, which has replaced knowledge as our cultural currency, and the idea of mastering the Western canon seems quaint in an age that publishes books with titles such as How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read.[1] 

Leo Tolstoy is famously credited with bridging the need for authority and the desire for individual autonomy: “everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.”  No wonder Paul and Peter both prayed for and commanded “growing in the knowledge of Christ.”[2]  As Christians we focus our need for outside assessment on inside conformity to Jesus.[3]  This is what theologians refer to as “progressive sanctification.”  To tag current educational commercials, “The more we know, the more we grow.” 

Biblical knowledge should produce personal discipline arising from revelation.[4] “Discipline” (NIV) gives instruction[5], supervision[6], and correction.[7]  Discipline is marked by chastening or warning.  Far from static, this is an action word-work hard won, a quality of character.  It is used frequently with correction or reproof.[8]  Discipline has a verbal rather than physical persuasion-an appeal to reason.  The wise believer applies discipline to himself, having learned a lesson.[9]  Discipline must not be taken lightly, nor does it come easily. 

Discipline beckons;[10] she never coerces or drags the person in, kicking and screaming.  Most susceptible to being undisciplined are those whom Scripture terms “simple” (NIV).  The Hebrew word-sounding very much like “petty” in English-means wide open to influences, whether “good or bad.”  “Simpletons” acquire the label from something which is wide or open, spacious, vast and abundant in capacity.  They literally “fall into trouble!”  Simple ones have a way of finding distress since they are quite indiscriminating “shoppers” in the marketplace of life.  

Proverbs 9:13 labels them as “silly” being devoid of knowledge.  A few verses later, Solomon maintains the undisciplined lack judgment, sanctified savvy; they are unable to see through the facade of spoiled merchandise (9:16).  Standing on the corners of “Choice” and “Decision” the simpleton is unable to make up his mind.[11]  Is there hope for the undisciplined?  Unlike other words for “fool” in Proverbs, this individual has the potential of being reached for the good.  Invasion and saturation of The Word softens his heart.  Persistent, consistent teaching will school this fool.[12] 

A “need to know” was the reason Daniel Boorstin, claimed “Man the Discoverer” as his hero.[13]  Humans’ insatiable urges are likened to what Coach Vince Lombardi taught his players about winning: “You must have a flaming desire to win.  It’s got to dominate all your waking hours.  It can’t ever wane.  It’s got to glow in you all the time.”[14]  Proverbs 19:2 weds passion with knowledge.  Our need for an outside source of truth cannot come from consultation companies or celebrity opinion.  We need external Truth-the revelation of Scripture-to capture our internal territory.  We need The Spirit’s quality control to channel our passions.  Internal conformity to Eternal authority-herein is discipline. 

---

[1] Christine Rosen. 2008. “When Books Were Great.” The Weekly Standard 22 December 2008, p. 34.

[2] Ephesians 1:17-18; Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:9-10; 2 Peter 3:18; see 1 Peter 2:2

[3] Romans 8:29; see John 5:39; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Peter 1:23.

[4] Deuteronomy 4:35-36; 11:2-7; 2 Timothy 3:16.

[5] Proverbs 1:8; 8:10; Ephesians 4:11-16.

[6] Galatians 3:24, 25; 2 Peter 1:5, 6.

[7] Proverbs 3:11,12; see Deuteronomy 8:1-5.

[8] Proverbs 3:11; 23:13.

[9] Proverbs 24:32.

[10] Proverbs 1:22; 8:5; 9:4.

[11] Proverbs 9:6; 14:18; 22:3

[12] Proverbs 19:25; 21:11; 27:12

[13] Daniel J. Boorstin. 1983. The Discoverers: A History of Man’s Search to Know His World and Himself. (Random House): xv-xvi.  To me, all other histories pale next to Boorstin’s three volumes: The Discoverers, The Creators, The Seekers.  The former librarian of Congress focused on people rather than time periods of history.  Find biblical warrant for the passion of knowledge: Job 26, 28; Proverbs 25:2.

[14] Jerry Kramer, ed. 1970. Lombardi: Winning Is the Only Thing. (Pocket): 86.

Mark Eckel, Director, Mahseh Center, Lake Bruce, IN 

French women do not have scales in their bathrooms; nor do they “get fat.”[1]  Mireille Guiliano suggests “recasting” as the way to curtail calorie counts.  As most health professionals know, weight loss is not achieved through dieting but through proper diet and exercise.[2]  Yet, Americans spend over $50 billion on weight loss products, equal to the gross national product of Ireland.[3]  Not included in this number is the amount that Americans spend each year on health clubs and gyms, a staggering $18.5 billion in 2007.[4]  In The West, can we discipline ourselves through external controls? 

In The East, internal compulsion is key.  Yoga, for instance, is a practice which enhances physical activity with the union (the definition of “yoga”) of spiritual well being.  Inner harmony, internal peace, and happiness are thought to be achieved through focus on one’s inner self.  Meditation seeks to empty people of everything so as to attain serenity.  Focused on “becoming their real self,” people are encouraged to discipline their lives to what Eckart Tolle calls The Power of Now.[5]  But can individuals monitor themselves? 

Governmental discipline is always in question.  Across the country next week, concerned citizens are organizing “tea parties” to register their complaint against government taxation.  At the same time, politicians are using high executive salaries as a front, deflecting blame for personal lack of governmental oversight.  Representatives in both houses of Congress allowed unhealthy fiscal practices for campaign revenue.  But does regulation of an industry by those who profit from it create proper supervision? 

Academics attempt to ensure accurate supervision through a practice called “tenure.”   After a number of years, publications, and performance reviews, faculty members seek long term connection to an institution.  Juried or peer-reviewed journal articles are another attempt by the academy to give parameters to research.  Dissertation committees make a student accountable to the directives of higher education.  But do objective standards of conduct driven by subjective professors guarantee “good” teachers? 

Discipline in all the spheres of life is impacted because of rootlessness.  We have lost our center.  Untethered, we float, weightless, lost in the cosmos.  Gone is stability in what Francis Schaeffer called “true Truth.”[6]  What I refer to my students as the “T” word-transcendence, an outside source of authority-is missing.  G. K. Chesterton argued in Orthodoxy that Christian theology is “the best root of energy and sound ethics.”[7]  Henry Zylstra in an essay entitled “Thoughts for Teachers” trains his crosshairs on the target:

We have to get squared around towards God if the universe is to make sense.  Life is bewildering and meaningless without the fixed reference point.  And how were one to find his way in a life of eternity with a map of time except he have a polar point, a Bethlehem, an Incarnation?  Orientation: that is our work as teachers.  We must give our pupils their bearings in life by causing them to face towards the east.[8] 

Christian doctrine[9] or theology[10] is necessary to refocus on The Cosmic Center: Christ.  In fact, one was thought to be “healthy” or “well” with the proper doctrine.[11]  All other belief systems are dependent upon works for eternal life.  Both Western and Eastern views of living leave one empty inside or out.  Governmental and academic regulations, relying on fallen, subjective people, cannot produce an objective standard of reality.  But Christian doctrine teaches that The Gospel is wholly of grace, from God, “making a person well” from the inside, out.[12] 

As I was teaching a group at Mahseh this week they wanted to know what I had learned through the PhD process.  “To be honest,” I began, “My first response, when I returned to my room, was to weep.  Sure, I was very tired.  But there was a sense that not only had a great weight been lifted, but also a great weight of responsibility had taken its place.”   Knowledge carries with it the reaction of humility.  It is true for me every time I study, read, write, think, or teach: I feel a deep wonder, an inexplicable honor to learn.  To me, this is the doctrine necessary for discipline:

By The Spirit’s work within me, I am grateful for this life and the opportunities of it.  I give thanks to Him who has made me for His created world.  I am satisfied with everything He has given to enjoy.  I am humbled by how much there is to know and how little I know of it.  And while He has crowned me with honor, all glory is due Him for His works and His work in me[13].

Were Walker Percy writing Lost in the Cosmos[14] today, I think he would agree with me.  We humans are a paltry bunch, attempting to transcend our slanted, individualistic views of ourselves.  Diet books and self-help books would make him laugh.  And Percy would skewer the pomposity of politicians and academics.  Discipline necessitates Christian doctrine.  We do not need bathroom scales.  We need to remove the scales from our eyes. 

---

[1] Mireille Guiliano. 2005. French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure. (Knopf): 44.

[2] The noun “diet” has become a verb, giving undo responsibility for doing over being…

[3] http://www.bodypositive.com/wtloss.htm

[4] http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/03/business/fi-gyms3

[5] Eckhart Tolle. 1999. The Power of Now. (New World Library).  http://www.yoga.com/ydc/enlighten/enlighten_document.asp?ID=459&section=6&cat=0

[6] Francis A. Schaeffer. 1971. The God Who is There. (Reprint, IVP): 129.

[7] G. K. Chesterton. 1908. Orthodoxy.  (John Lane Company): 20. 

[8] Henry Zylstra. 1958. “Thoughts for Teachers.” In Testament of Vision. (Eerdmans): 173.

[9] “Doctrine” normally refers to specific beliefs (e.g., Christian instruction on sin, salvation, or angels).  The New Testament most often uses the word didaskalia meaning “teaching” or “what is learned.”  The content of teaching can be positive (Romans 15:4) or negative (Colossians 2:22). 

[10] “Theology” generally means the comprehensive overview of The Church’s teaching.  Theology encapsulates the whole of a belief system.  In the case of the Judeo-Christian viewpoint, everything is theological; all things must be viewed from Heaven’s perspective.

[11] 1 Timothy 1:10; cf. Matthew 6:22-23.  Medical terms were used as metaphors for the condition of one’s spirit or teaching by Greek and Roman writers (Keener, 609).  A suave or medication applied externally is the idea of 1 Timothy 1:8-10.  The word “sound” or “healthy” is from the Greek from whence comes our word “hygienic.”

[12] Notice in 1 Timothy 1:8-17 law has a good function in society, keeping wrongdoing at bay.  But “sound” or “healthy” doctrine (1:10) comes from God and is entrusted to The Church.  Notice how many times Paul makes a point of saying “this is not about me” in verses 12-17.  In fact, he ends with a hymn in verse 17, punctuating the truth.

[13] Deuteronomy 8:10-20; Job 26, 28; Psalm 8:5; 115:1; Ecclesiastes 5:18-20; Romans 11:33-36; Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 1 Timothy 6:17.

[14] Walker Percy. 1983, 2000. Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book. (Reprint: MacMillan).

April 7, 2009

to

April 8, 2009

April 24, 2009

to

April 25, 2009

April 17, 2009

to

April 19, 2009