Saturday: On Mulling over Yourself
WEEK 14
SATURDAY
ON MULLING OVER YOURSELF
John 21:15-17
Before we leave this question of the cleansing of the subconscious in relation to the self, let us look at it once more.
It is good that the instinct of self resides in the subconscious. That is where it should be. That is where it should stay. That produces un–self-consciousness. The Holy Spirit dwelling in the subconscious, cleansing the self from selfishness and consecrating it to purposes of the kingdom of God, is a perfect way to deal with the self.
But take the modern way of thinking about yourself, talking about yourself, picking yourself to pieces, analyzing your motives, trying to reorganize yourself, and mulling over yourself in general. That produces about as many problems as it solves. For it leaves you preoccupied. And that is disruptive. Center yourself on yourself, and yourself will go to pieces. The people who are always trying to regulate their health, paying attention to this, to that, and to the other, have little health to regulate. They upset the rhythm of the body by their very fussy attention. They get “attention pains.” Obey the laws of health, get interests outside yourself, and the body will look after itself. It is made that way!
So is the soul. When Dr. David Livingstone came back from Africa, someone asked him about his soul. He replied, “My soul, my soul, I almost forgot I had a soul.” He was so interested in the souls of his beloved Africans he almost forgot his own. That was healthy. And the secret was found in his statement, “All I am and all I have, I hold in relation to the kingdom of God.”* That released his self from self-interest and turned it toward kingdom-interest.
The self is sufficiently in the conscious mind for us to decide consciously to turn it over to the Holy Spirit in the subconscious. Then hidden in the subconscious, it reveals itself unconsciously in the conscious as a self of blessing and power and influence for the kingdom. It is refreshing to see in the Acts people who were personally problemless, helping people right and left to solve their problems.
O Holy Spirit, thank you for controlling where we can’t control, cleansing where we can’t cleanse; and all we have to do is to say yes. Blessed be. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: I have no problems, for in Christ all my problems are possibilities.
* No published source was located for these quotations.