The Ultimate Power Source
(09/03/03)
Greetings to the Church That Meets at Betsy's House,
In this letter I am going to share with you what is the absolute, unquestioned, readily available source of power to any and all who would desire it. It is used everyday by everyone regardless of their place in life. It is that which fuels all that we do and shapes all that we are. It is the invisible, compelling force behind every and all actions for every person on the face of the earth. It is usually unnoticed and rarely questioned. This silent dynamo is the absolute ruler of mankind. While it is common it's elements are very individual, it is made to fit the unique requirements of each of it's slaves.
There is a secular song whose lyrics reflect a certain aspect of this power. They, in part, tell the story of a lovesick person who is having a problem with a lover who is being unfaithful. Even though the lover is obviously unfaithful the lovesick one still wants to remain in the relationship in spite of the others actions. So the lyrics lament "if I listen long enough to you I know that I will find a reason to believe", i.e. I want to believe you want me in spite of your actions to the contrary. Put another way is, "help me believe what does not fit with the empirical evidence because I want to believe what suits my personal needs".
I find this to be amazingly true and consistent among all "believers", Christian or not.
Let me give you an example I find to be very prevalent among Christians. As part of the human species, Christian or not, we all seek for a sense of peace and security. That security is based upon a set of beliefs accepted as true. When a Christian first becomes Christian they are introduced to a "set of beliefs" that, in most cases, go unchallenged for any number of reasons. The most basic reason is that the new "believer" is not well enough versed in the details of what has now become their new "believe system". They are at the mercy, if you will, of the instructor. To the degree they see their instructor as credible they will accept what they are taught as true, i.e. believable. Believable then becomes true whether it is or not.
This acceptance brings with it a calming sense of peace and security, the very thing that they need in this time of turmoil and change, the birthing process. They, like all babies, are, in a large degree, very dependent on those who care for them in the early stages of their development.
While that is all well and good, and very necessary, it can also be a great hindrance to the real growth that should follow. Many, if not most, grow up to be like the 45 year old "child" who never leaves home and strikes out on their own. They stay infants in the comfort of their provincial home and settings. They never challenge the things they have been taught to be true and therefore never really grow up, they just get older.
In my business, the sales business, there are tons of sales "gurus" who all have a sure fire system to wealth and success. They hold seminars in which they espouse their own particular way and, depending on how credible they are, find a ready audience of salespeople eager and "ready to believe". One well known sales mentor states it clearly with these words, "anything a man can conceive and believe he can achieve". One of the founders of Amway has a book simply entitled "Believe". "Believing" is the ultimate power and we intuitively recognize it whether or not it is clearly identified and articulated.
The empirical evidence they offer to support their claims is always anecdotal evidence. That is all they offer is their, or carefully selected others who follow their system, experiences. Since they are presenting their system as the reason for the desirable outcome, and make that assertion, the system and outcome are linked by the association they make. In other words they put the two together in their "logical" paradigm and, since the hearers want to believe it to be true, they simply accept it.
Now, if they accept it as true they will act upon it until they either get the touted results or give up because it "doesn't work for me". If the latter becomes the case the system giver will simple assert their failure to get the results as some deficiency on the hearers part. Either they didn't try hard enough, didn't do all the particulars, or gave up to soon. In other words they failed the system didn't.
They never give credence to the reality that there could be any number of other reasons for the failure but since it has worked for a very select group of others it is universally true. By the way the "evidence", even in the case of that select group, is often only their own testimony and nothing more. Let me ask you, do you believe everything a stranger tells you?
I could go on and on but I want to make a final application to Christians who are stuck in the nursery. They also buy into the "it works for others" experience as "proof". When they try to follow the steps of those who have "mastered" the "system" and fail to get the same desired result they are the ones who have "failed". They are "spiritually" inferior and therefore don't confront those who they see as "spiritually superior".
Since no one wants to tell others of their failure, and hence become a failure, they remain silent. This leads to a deadening silence among the many who are meeting with the same "failure" and no one dares question the expert. No one has the guts to get up and say "the king has no clothes".
Their "faith" becomes increasingly more and more apathetic and lifeless. They become emotional cripples. Every once in a while they attend a "sales meeting" where they get all pumped up emotionally and for a very brief moment decide to "give it another try" only to fail once more. That experience only deepens their "belief" that there is something inherently wrong with them, and them alone, since no one talks about it.
I want to state this loud and clear-----if whatever anyone touts to be absolutely true cannot be automatically repeated in the lives of others when followed it is a lie. If anyone says do this and this and this will result and it does not happen there is a lie somewhere. Any recipe that does not produce the promise is a faulty recipe. The fault lies in the system of beliefs not the believer.
Therefore, it behooves each and everyone of us to closely examine the doctrines we are being taught. We must be willing to suffer the uneasiness that comes from challenging what our "parents" told us was true. We must give up the desire to have comfort above all things and strike out into the fresh, new, often frightening, world of personal responsibility and maturity.
It is my hope and prayer that everything I have ever shared with you is carefully examined by you. That you are not willing to merely accept what I teach as true as being true. It is my hearts desire to see each and every one of you grow into the mature adults God wants us to be.
In His Love,
Tomme
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