This is something I struggle with too. I don't know if I consider my intellect more important than God, but I do know that it's a source of pride and self-value. Maybe that's not entirely a bad thing, but it is if I start judging other people based on these standards rather than loving them as God's creation. It's also bad if my pride in my intellect leads me to think that I'm better than other people, or that I don't need God as much.
Do I judge people according to their intellect? Last year I was chatting to a friend on MSN and somehow we ended up discussing Descartes. I didn't agree with something one of his lecturers had said about Descartes, and I dismissed his opinion with a comment along the lines of "what kind of authority is he on Descartes?" After all, I'd written a whole honours thesis on Descartes, so of course I knew better. My friend pulled me up on it very quickly and, I thought, rather harshly. But he was so right. I was really shocked at my own behaviour. I think that too some extent it's the influence of my academic environment and training, but that's no excuse. We're to be in the world but not of the world, and that includes academia!
Another example. I rant and rave about judging people on their physical appearance is such a terrible thing. In a discussion on Craig's blog, I suggested that the attraction of My Darcy was that he loved Lizzie for her mind, not for her looks, money or family connections. Craig challenged me on this: "I think loving someone for their mind is just as shallow as loving them for their body." Oh.
I love the Isaac Watts hymn "I boast no more."
1. No more, my God, I boast no more
Of all the duties I have done;
I quit the hopes I held before,
To trust the merits of Thy Son
2. Now, for the loss I bear His name,
What was my gain I count my loss;
My former pride I call my shame,
And nail my glory to His cross.
3. Yes, and I must and will esteem
All things but loss for Jesus’ sake;
O may my soul be found in Him,
And of His righteousness partake!
4. The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before Thy throne;
But faith can answer Thy demands,
By pleading what my Lord has done.
Chorus:
No more my God,
No more my God,
No more my God,
I boast no more.
It was sung as an item at my church a while back. There was a wooden cross on the stage, and we wrote down on paper what we considered to be our glory and nailed it to the cross. For me, it was my intellect. I wasn't always this proud of my mind. In high school, I didn't care much. Once I hit uni, started getting some HDs (they can be quite addictive) and some of my lecturers thought that I had academic potential, I did start to become more proud of my intellectual ability.
But is that entirely bad? God has given us certain qualities and gifts to use for his glory. I need to remember that my intellect is a gift from God, and not something that I can be proud of achieving on my own. On the other hand, I shouldn't neglect this ability by not using it. There's a fine line between working hard to use God's gifts wisely, and becoming too dependent on them.
When (or if!) I finish my PhD, can I be proud of that achievement? I think so, as long as I keep it in the perspective of God's grace. I'm working hard at my PhD, but I'm doing it for God's glory, not my own. At least, I hope I am. I see academia as my mission field, and if I become an academic, it won't just be a job - it'll be a ministry. But, I can't do this on my own. I need to acknowledge that God is the one with the power and control. If he wants something to happen, it will. If he doesn't want something to happen, it won't. It's not easy. I think I'll have to continually struggle to submit to God's will, and give all the glory to him, but I think that struggle is just part of living in the "now, but not yet."
Enough rambling. Back to work. I don't think I'll be glorifying God if I spend too much time blogging and not enough on my PhD work!!
4 comments:
Some suffer from intellectual vanity (not you) but intellectual idolatry, I just can't see it.
I think you're committing the Cartesian Circle anti-clockwise! That is, you're assuming that God exists, notcing that you have an intellectual gift and inferring that you received it from Him. But really it is the intellect that is self-evident and God's existence that requires the argument.
I don't see how exercising your intellect can harm your relationship with God. Surely it is their lack of intelligence that stops dogs, cats and your cockatiel from having the sort of relationship with God that you do (seriously, these animals have the same sort of loyalty, love and faith as humans).
But, if you still think that it's all about balancing reason with faith, take heart in a quote from our favourite Italian astronomer:
Ma che quell'istesso Dio che ci ha dotati di sensi, di discorso e d'intelletto, abbia voluto, posponendo l'uso di questi, darci con altro mezo le notizie che per quelli possiamo conseguire... doviamo negare il senso e la ragione, non credo che sia necessario il crederlo.
That this same God who has given us senses, reason and intellect had wanted us to forgo their use and by other means give us the knowledge that we could obtain through them... that we must ignore the senses and reason, I do not believe that it is necessary to believe this.
You got me thinking of a great song that we sing at my church 8-) Hadn't really applied this down the lines of boasting in my intellect yet... but now that you point it out, it fits all too well.
Also I find the comment about being attracted to someone’s mind being no better than being attracted to their body quite challenging. I want to disagree with it, but can't at this point... would you care to elaborate on where it took you? Is it a case of we shouldn't be attracted based on either? Or we should be attracted based on both? Or something else entirely?
@nick I have no idea what the Cartesian circle is. But the point I (and I think Lara) was making was not that there is anything wrong with exercising you intellect, its when you come to rely on your intellect to the exclusion of others (or indeed to the exclusion of god) as something that makes you intrinsically superior, rather than just another gift of equal value to those god has given others, that is when it becomes dangerous.
Like so many things, it’s not the thing itself, but how you use it that is the problem.
Hmm. I wasn't thinking about it in terms of Cartesian-type arguments, but I can see your point. From the point of view of the Christian doctrine that I subscribe to, however, there is a God, anything I have comes from him, and everything I do is for God's glory, not my own. I believe that God gives gifts to his people to use in serving others and in glorifying God; e.g. 1 Peter 4:10-11.
I don't think that exercising my intellect will harm my relationship with God. Done properly, of course it will enhance it. But I think I am guilty of taking too much pride in my intellect, as though it makes me superior to other people, or more worthy of time and attention (I won't say more worthy of salvation).
I know my cockatiel has immense loyalty, love and faith in me. Is it his lack of intellect that prevents him from having a relationship with God? Yes, but more specifically, it's the lack of a God-given capacity to relate to God.
Nick: Thanks for the Galileo quote. I love it! I'm reading a lot about reason and faith at the moment - writing chapter 5 on the Cambridge Platonists. It's fantastic stuff.
Matt: I love that song! I remember singing it at MYC, and I wish we sang it at my church.
I just thought of another way to explain it. I'm concerned that this kind of perspective (and 1 Corinthians 1:18-25) may lead people to think that Christianity is anti-intellectual. This is not the case. Some Christians may be anti-intellectual, and the Puritans were certainly accused of this.
I'm giving the example of my intellect as something that may cause me to stumble, but it could be any kind of ability: physical beauty, powerful preaching, athletic prowess. So this led me to think of Eric Liddell.
Chariots of Fire is one of my dad's favourite movies, so I've seen it many times. And I agree - it's a fantastic film. Liddell was so inspiring. There's a great scene where he's explaining to his sister why running is so important to him, and why he's going to stay and train for the Olympics instead of going back to the mission in China. This is what I can remember off the top of my head.
God made me for a purpose. I know that now. But he also made me fast. And when I run, I can feel his pleasure. To give that up would be to hold him in contempt.
Liddell believes that his running ability is a gift from God, but he is using it to glorify God. He won't let it get in the way of his relationship with God, which is why he won't run on a Sunday - and almost loses his chance at Olympic gold because of that. He says:
God made countries, God makes kings, and the rules by which they govern. And those rules say that the Sabbath is His. And I for one intend to keep it that way.
I don't necessarily agree with the no sport on Sundays rule, but I admire his conviction and his determination to make sure nothing comes before God in his life.
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