Week 9—Wednesday Matthew 12:43-45
Matthew 12:43-45
“VAST NEUROTIC MISERY . . . A NEUROSIS OF EMPTINESS”
We ended yesterday in commenting on the statement of Dr. Boss that “the demands of human nature drove him back to the Christian position.” He made another statement of real importance when I sent him my book Conversion. I thought he would toss it in the corner or write a polite note in reply. But instead he wrote: “This is the kind of book we need. Those psychiatrists who are not superficial have come to the conclusion that the vast neurotic misery of the world could be termed a neurosis of emptiness. People cut themselves off from the root of their being, from God, and therefore life turns sick because it is empty and inane.” So life without God is sick because it is empty.
A Harvard doctor said over the radio recently: “The health of this country is being endangered by aimlessness and lack of purpose.” Then to be healthy one must have aim and purpose. But without the Christian faith, the aims are low aims, and purposes are low purposes. And low aims and purposes also create ill health. So the Christian faith is necessary to health. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “In my letter I wrote that you must have nothing to do with loose livers.” Then he explains what a loose liver is: “I now write that you must have nothing to do with any so-called Christian who leads a loose life, or is grasping, or idolatrous, a slanderer, a drunkard, or a swindler” (1 Cor. 5:9, 11, NEB). The life of sin is “loose”—it has no cement in it, so it falls to pieces mentally, spiritually, physically, and socially. We speak of a man who is going downhill: “He is going to pieces.” He is. Concerning Jesus, the Scripture says: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). Outside Jesus, all things fly apart, and that “all things” includes the total person. Outside of him all things are incoherent, senseless, aimless, and purposeless. Hence, there is an undermining of health. For we are made by the Purposeful for the purposeful.
O Blessed Father, your love has written your law not in graven stone but in our flesh. Your law is a part of us. Therefore we cannot revolt against your law without revolting against ourselves. We set organ against organ, and the revolt is chaos. Save us. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: Jesus said: “He who does not gather with me scatters”—life forces break down.