I've been reading through and thinking about the comments that were left on the previous post about inspiration, and I wanted to revisit this topic as the original one has scrolled off the front page (out of sight, out of mind). After considering this, I think I'm going to have to disagree with the majority of the comments - I really don't think that inspiration is something that can be manufactured. At best, I think it's something that we can work harder on to be more open to - for example, taking some initiative to find work to do in order to feel like there's more purpose to the job we have - but I don't think that inspiration can really be manufactured.
I'm thinking of Thomas Edison's famous statement regarding invention being "10% inspiration, 90% perspiration". Inspiration is the spark that converts our thoughts into action, the drive to take steps to meet a need or accomplish a goal. I was having a great conversation with James the other day about Matthew 6:33 which reads:
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
I consider this to be a very "sunday school" verse insofar as it answers the question of what to do, but it begs a larger question that can't be answered so nicely, I don't think - namely, the question of why. This verse gets used a lot in discussions about why Christians should stop living for themselves and live for God, and usually involves materialism, failures of performance, etc. Anyway, that question I was referring to earlier is this: how is one motivated (inspired, perhaps?) to "seek first" something that he has never verified with his physical senses and has merely been told about rather than something he can verify that is right there in front of his face, in flesh and blood?
In other words, what's the motivation to set aside the things we can have right now in order to seek something/someone in the future that we've never seen and can only trust in our heart of hearts is real? If this is a cause and effect statement, then it seems like the motivation to seek first is the promise of "and all these things shall be added unto you." But if I can add them independently without seeking God first (which usually entails doing the crazy things like leaving lucrative jobs to go work in a barrio somewhere, for example), what's the inspiration for trusting that God is worthy of seeking first above all other things? Sure He's worthy of handling the things at the end of life, the things we can't control - death, natural disasters, that sort of thing. It's fairly easy to trust that God's in control of things which are out of my control; it is much more difficult to be inspired to do something I dislike by the thought that someone a bajillion miles away from me (who I've never actually met) is proud of me or wants me to do so.
Maybe I can describe it better this way...why follow the laws and wishes of a king 10,000 miles away rather than following the laws/wishes of the people that one interacts with on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis? Why put the will of a disembodied figure above that of the here and now? This is the crux of the inspiration issue for me, because my head knows that this verse is true and that it is "the right thing to do" but my actions would say that I believe otherwise. I'm looking for that spark that moves the knowledge from out of my head into saturating my actions and changing them - whether that's doing something massively great for God or just dragging my sorry cheeks into work every day and doing my job with excitement and professionalism.
I'm thinking of Thomas Edison's famous statement regarding invention being "10% inspiration, 90% perspiration". Inspiration is the spark that converts our thoughts into action, the drive to take steps to meet a need or accomplish a goal. I was having a great conversation with James the other day about Matthew 6:33 which reads:
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
I consider this to be a very "sunday school" verse insofar as it answers the question of what to do, but it begs a larger question that can't be answered so nicely, I don't think - namely, the question of why. This verse gets used a lot in discussions about why Christians should stop living for themselves and live for God, and usually involves materialism, failures of performance, etc. Anyway, that question I was referring to earlier is this: how is one motivated (inspired, perhaps?) to "seek first" something that he has never verified with his physical senses and has merely been told about rather than something he can verify that is right there in front of his face, in flesh and blood?
In other words, what's the motivation to set aside the things we can have right now in order to seek something/someone in the future that we've never seen and can only trust in our heart of hearts is real? If this is a cause and effect statement, then it seems like the motivation to seek first is the promise of "and all these things shall be added unto you." But if I can add them independently without seeking God first (which usually entails doing the crazy things like leaving lucrative jobs to go work in a barrio somewhere, for example), what's the inspiration for trusting that God is worthy of seeking first above all other things? Sure He's worthy of handling the things at the end of life, the things we can't control - death, natural disasters, that sort of thing. It's fairly easy to trust that God's in control of things which are out of my control; it is much more difficult to be inspired to do something I dislike by the thought that someone a bajillion miles away from me (who I've never actually met) is proud of me or wants me to do so.
Maybe I can describe it better this way...why follow the laws and wishes of a king 10,000 miles away rather than following the laws/wishes of the people that one interacts with on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis? Why put the will of a disembodied figure above that of the here and now? This is the crux of the inspiration issue for me, because my head knows that this verse is true and that it is "the right thing to do" but my actions would say that I believe otherwise. I'm looking for that spark that moves the knowledge from out of my head into saturating my actions and changing them - whether that's doing something massively great for God or just dragging my sorry cheeks into work every day and doing my job with excitement and professionalism.
Hmm. Well, I am going to attack this from the standpoint that the hermeneutic you've chosen to use in interpreting this verse is a bit off, and then I will comment on the issue of inspiration in lieu of the comments in the last post.
I know you have been going through, gleaning, and enjoying all things Beatitudes in your groups the past year. I think it is one of the most pivotal periods in Jesus' short stint in physical form on Earth. Commending you and seeing your enthusiasm for them is very encouraging to me. With that in mind, I would definitely take a look at the context first though in order to straighten out your idea of "Seek first the Kingdom of God,"
One thing you always have to maintain in dealing with Scripture is the audience for which it was written. This always comes first. In this instance, Jesus is talking to the folks mentioned in Mt 4:25; the majority being Hebrew in descent. This means that the hermeneutic must include the Hebrew understanding of the Kingdom of God and its relation to them, both eschatologically and practically. Up to this point you have 400-500 years of silence from the prophets, and no new "inspiration" from any works of YHWH. The Sunday school response to this is that the people were looking for a political and military messiah to rescue them from hundreds of years of oppression (with a quick 100 years of independence). You have several false messiahs claiming their right to the throne (the Maccabean/Hasmonean dynasties, the priestly lines, etc.), and many clinging to a future hope of these things coming to an end. By the time Jesus entered into the fold, many of the people and generations before new the physical signs of a messiah (entering the city of the foal of an ass, the palm rituals etc.) but each succeeding messiah never gave them the true promise of an eternity of rule by their God. Now you have the Romans, who by our standards aren't asking for much from the Hebrews, and yet because they were impinging on very sacred traditions in Judea, the people again felt "oppressed."
One overarching idea that the Beatitudes tackle is that the centuries of silence are coming to a fast close. The people following Jesus had a renewed hope that the Scriptures of old were finally opening and coming to pass. Jesus then begins to teach them what to do in light of this awakening of sorts of their God, YHWH, but as I said before, they were looking for one thing, and Jesus at the mount was teaching them something totally different. The idea he suggested is that the Kingdom as they envisioned it was not wrapped up in the geographical and political idea of Israel, but the life and soul of Israel, and Jesus was to now embody their expectation of the "Coming Kingdom." He was showing them what the Kingdom really looked like. He taught them what it should have been and what they should do now to ensure that the Kingdom would now take root and rule over them. The Kingdom of God was NOW AT HAND!
You said, "How is one motivated (inspired, perhaps?) to "seek first" something that he has never verified with his physical senses and has merely been told about rather than something he can verify that is right there in front of his face, in flesh and blood? In other words, what's the motivation to set aside the things we can have right now in order to seek something/someone in the future that we've never seen and can only trust in our heart of hearts is real?" There are two misunderstandings in your question. 1) Something that [he] has never verified with his physical senses... and 2) set aside the things we can have right now in order to seek something/someone in the future that we've never seen.
I think the Beatitudes more than clarify your questions. Jesus has been verified by human senses (empirically) and therefore the Kingdom of God has been verified. Jesus also never pointed to a future event when iterating the Kingdom, let alone seeking it. It was his mission to let people know that the Kingdom was ALREADY THERE! (cp. Mt 3:12, 4:17) When you look at the complete story of the Bible, from creation to revelation, it’s all about redemption. Jesus made bold claims concerning the Kingdom, and certainly it took a lot of people around him time to really grasp this concept. Consider the fact that the disciples were depressed that he had been killed, that there was shock when the tomb was empty ( verified by the Romans as well as the ladies of the group), and that he showed himself and proved himself to be God at Pentecost. These things were happening right in front of his followers. The eschatology they considered out of reach had unfolded before their eyes. I can not disagree with you more on the fact that it is not the future that we should hold on to in finding inspiration, but the in history where Jesus came, died and rose to connect the garden story with our meeting with God at the throne! The ancients always sang songs and hymns about the past to remind them of the good things that God had done for them (they’re all over in the psalms, songs of the exodus, et. al.)
To bring this to a close, I think that it is not the future that you should cleave to for inspiration, or the past with what has already been accomplished.... Your inspiration is NOW in light of EVERYTHING that has come to pass in the redemptive act at the Cross and Cave.
You say "But if I can add them independently without seeking God first (which usually entails doing the crazy things like leaving lucrative jobs to go work in a barrio somewhere, for example), what's the inspiration for trusting that God is worthy of seeking first above all other things?" I guess I have very short answer for this. If you were not made new in Christ, would you drop your job for work in a barrio? Is not the inspiration of your redemption making you lean towards ministry? Again, you've accepted that the Kingdom is at hand, through your admission of Jesus as Lord. If this is so, you are not doing things independent of Him, but considering ministries that would further his cause.
I hope this helps
I would like to ask for a little more clarification on this paragraph.
"In other words, what's the motivation to set aside the things we can have right now in order to seek something/someone in the future that we've never seen and can only trust in our heart of hearts is real? If this is a cause and effect statement, then it seems like the motivation to seek first is the promise of "and all these things shall be added unto you." But if I can add them independently without seeking God first (which usually entails doing the crazy things like leaving lucrative jobs to go work in a barrio somewhere, for example), what's the inspiration for trusting that God is worthy of seeking first above all other things? Sure He's worthy of handling the things at the end of life, the things we can't control - death, natural disasters, that sort of thing. It's fairly easy to trust that God's in control of things which are out of my control; it is much more difficult to be inspired to do something I dislike by the thought that someone a bajillion miles away from me (who I've never actually met) is proud of me or wants me to do so."
The reason why I ask for clarification is because I'm reading this as being more of a "submission" and "relational" issue rather than an "inspiration" (or lack thereof) issue. If you're questioning God's "worthiness" to be trusted above all other things, then that tells me that you haven't really made Him Lord of your life; or allowed Him to guide your decisions. Maybe you've listened to His voice, but treated them like suggestions and have continued to do your own thing. That is what I'm getting out of reading this paragraph with the context of everything else. Since I know you though, I think this is far from the truth. So I need a little clarification on this.
I don't think the inspiration of "Seeking the kingdom of God first" is knowing that "all of these things will be added to you." I think the inspiration is living under the desire/plan that the Lord has for me. I think of II Corinthians 12:9-10, "And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." Paul can boast in his weaknesses and infirmities, not because of the situation but because of his "submission" and "relationship" in Christ.
Like I said in my last comment, I believe inspiration can be manufactured in Christ, but to what level or degree depends on you and your relationship with Him. Apparently you don't really need a lot of inspiration to cause you to act, and I take the Thomas Edison quote you gave, "10% inspiration, and 90% perspiration." Inspiration in Christ is not a natural thing for us. Not all of us have the same gift of the Spirit, nor do we have them all. I hear this with FAITH all the time, "Evangelism just isn't my Spiritual Gift." How right you are if you feel this way. It is not your gift, it is through the Holy Spirit! I'm scared, and uncomfortable every time I witness and share my faith with someone, and that is a fact. But my inspiration to do so is in Christ, not myself. That inspiration is manufactured by my willingness to submit to the task He has set on my heart to do. This is where the relationship part comes in, because the only way I'm going to trust Him, is by seeking Him to help me through it. If it were left to my ability, I'd never share; reverting back to how I was 7+ years ago. But since I'm not relying on myself, and seeking His help; that is where the gift I lack (because of my weakness) is added to me to accomplish His purpose; and therefore I can boast in that because it is not my glory; but God's. I guess in short, manufactured inspiration in Christ comes from willingness to submit to His plan (Isaiah 6:5-13).
Without that inspiration (manufactured or not) explain how we can endure, persevere, fight the good fight, press toward the goal, disciple others, love one another, continue to stand, act on faith, have peace of mind through turmoil, have the confidence that we are truly saved and can never lose that salvation, have faith and hope, work together, etc? Inspiration in Christ is the foundation of being a Christ-Follower; and it has to be manufactured by Him, or otherwise you have to question, "Am I really saved?"
To inspire means, "to fill with courage or strength of purpose ." Inpiration means, "a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation b: the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions." Both of these taken from meriam-webster.com. So what these definitions suggest is that to be inspired or to have inspiration has to be manufactured by an outside means, that stirs your inside to action. Here are some more scriptures about this:
Job 32:8 says, "But it is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of Almighty giving them understanding."
Acts 15:8-9, "And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith."
Romans 3:28, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law."
Ephesians 5:18-21, "And do not get drunk (influenced) with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled (influenced) with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ."
Oh yeah, real life example time. Say that you and your dad had a disagreement that caused strain on your relationship. You know that you can't leave it as "agree to disagree" because of the hurt it causes; and you both have to reconcile the difference. But you're mad, and he's mad; you haven't spoken in awhile, but you know that both of you need to do some damage control repairs.
What inspires you to reconcile with your dad?
One of two things:
1. I want to prove to him that I am right, therefore justified in what my actions were, and what I have said.
or
2. I know there is more to our relationship than this; and I am committed to working through the hurt and pain, because I love my dad.
Inspiration to act is never about the end result, but about the relationship you have. The same with Christ. Inspiration from Him is never about the end result; but about the relationship. Inspiration from our relationship with Christ starts with His Love (Agape). To "add all of these things" without "seeking God first" is what I Corinthians 13:1-3 describes, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have {the gift of} prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed {the poor,} and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."
You said that you are waiting for a spark to put your knowledge to good use, but I believe that, by your words, you do not believe God is Close to you. If He truly is a bajillion miles away, then why do anything for someone who is so distant? Why would I care to do anything that would please him if I might truly believe he does not care enough to be near me? What's the point of he does not care? Perhaps if we let it sink in that he is truly personal, then perhaps that fog would lift, and we could realize that there is something specific for us where we work, eat, and live. Perhaps all the inspiration we need is right there in front of us, screaming "LOOK HERE!! ITS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, TO THE SIDE, AND BEHIND YOU!!" but our wrong thinking is clouding all of that up. If we do not seek Him first, if we do not know Him for who he truly is, then we'll never get it. Even if it is staring us right in the face.
Leave it to you seminary guys to make things more complex than they need to be. And, of course, leave it to me to be thinking of a specific situation but write it out with enough ambiguity to not get my point across.
I don't really think that there is any human analog to use as an example when discussing our relationship with God because God is the only being who has direct, daily influence on our lives and yet does not appear directly verifiable by our senses. While my dad may live 1,500 miles away, I know he exists - I hear him audibly, I see him, I physically talk to him. The same with President Bush - while I don't know him personally, I've seen him on TV, I've heard his voice, I know that he exists. God, on the other hand, is completely seen by the influence He has on the earth - we see His creation, read His words that were written by human hands, and "feel" his presence. Because of that, I think it is important for Christians to stop and ask the very question I asked about why the notion of an external being should impact my decision making process on a daily basis. I can hear seminary answers all day long, but until I actually get through the cruft of my life and decide that He's real, it's all purely academic.
I actually had a good discussion about this the day after I wrote it with Justin and Travis, and the conclusion that I came down to was that this elusive spark boils down to trust which is born of the realization of what being poor in spirit really means. I think these kinds of questions are the result of taking on a study such as the beattitudes as the outer layers of the onion (the surfacy things) are peeled away and the deeper hurts, issues, and wrong images of God are exposed. In the end, the motivation comes down to trust that 2,000 years of reiteration, validation, and cogitation are the truth. Travis said it best, though - the belief comes from outside of us and our prayer should be as Thomas prayed, "Lord, help me in my unbelief". My lack of trust in God is based on my image of Him, which oftentimes is warped and incorrect to begin with.
So after further rumination and discussion on this topic, I've come to see inspiration as waking up every day and saying, "Lord, I don't believe like I should, but I want to. Help me to get out of the boat and walk to you without looking down today." - praying that even when I don't want to pray it and putting it to the test, coming to the realization that every time I try to inspire myself the efforts fall flat. Spending time getting to know as much as I possibly can about God is what generates the inspiration to follow Him and let Him influence my decisions.
i'm not in seminary......
"Leave it to you seminary guys to make things more complex than they need to be." You're the one making things more complex. In the words of preacher O'Chester, "Is it really that easy? Yes, why would God make it hard for us?"
"God, on the other hand, is completely seen by the influence He has on the earth - we see His creation, read His words that were written by human hands, and 'feel' his presence. Because of that, I think it is important for Christians to stop and ask the very question I asked about why the notion of an external being should impact my decision making process on a daily basis." I think you are forgetting about relationship. The human hands that wrote the Bible were "inspired by the Holy Spirit." You are forgetting that your relationship with Christ is empowered by the Holy Spirit. The scripture teaches us that when we submit ourselves as a living sacrifice, to be used by God; this living, decision making, inspiration, action, love, etc; comes by the Holy Spirit! It is more than a "feeling", it is based in a relationship; and personal testimony of being a living sacrifice.
"In the end, the motivation comes down to trust that 2,000 years of reiteration, validation, and cogitation are the truth. Travis said it best, though - the belief comes from outside of us and our prayer should be as Thomas prayed, "Lord, help me in my unbelief". My lack of trust in God is based on my image of Him, which oftentimes is warped and incorrect to begin with." In the end, the motivation comes down to relationship and submission to what you personally know of HIM! Belief does not come from outside of us. Our belief in God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is validated and verified by the things outside of us (Romans 1:16-20). Focus on verse 19, "because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. " The word evident in Greek means, "manifest, apparent, plainly recognized." This verse is saying that this manifestation starts within the person because of the work of the Holy Spirit; and God is plainly recognized from within ourselves. Then verse 20 says, our belief in the evidence of the "invisible things of God" is then (and only then) clearly seen within HIS creation. The rest of the chapter deals with the people who plainly recognize God, but continue to reject Him (I believe people like Richard Dawkins fits this category). BTW, Thomas never prayed, "Lord help my unbelief." That was the centurion who came to Christ to have him heal his son. He said to Jesus, "If you can do anything, heal my son." Jesus replied, "'If you can?' All things are possible to those who believe" Then the centurion replied, "I believe, but help my unbelief." (Mark 9:17-24). Thomas said that he wouldn't believe Christ rose from the dead, until he saw Christ himself; big difference.
Lack of trust in God is based on your image of Him; but where inspiration comes by the Holy Spirit in this area is when we submit to Him inspite of our lack of trust; giving God the chance to prove Himself in this area; so you can have a proper image of Him. Your belief in God is there, regardless of lack of trust, incorrect images, etc. It is your belief in God, and your relationship with God that allows you to be in the position to say, "Correct my perspective." Then through things outside of us, our belief is validated. That's called a personal testimony!
"So after further rumination and discussion on this topic, I've come to see inspiration as waking up every day and saying, 'Lord, I don't believe like I should, but I want to. Help me to get out of the boat and walk to you without looking down today.' - praying that even when I don't want to pray it and putting it to the test, coming to the realization that every time I try to inspire myself the efforts fall flat. Spending time getting to know as much as I possibly can about God is what generates the inspiration to follow Him and let Him influence my decisions." That is what I've been saying. Your belief in God, from within yourself, is being validated by outside things when you do this. The end result is a stronger relationship; and that relationship continues to give you inspiration to submit to the Holy Spirit so you can continue to live the way He created you to live.