the product of community: personal insight
Consider Paul David Tripp's commentary on Hebrews 3:12-13 ("Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.").
"Since each of us still has sin remaining in us, we will have pockets of spiritual blindness. . . Our most important vision system is nor our physical eyes. We can be physically blind and live quite well. But when we are spiritually blind, we cannot live as God intended . . . Physically blind people are always aware of their deficit and spend much of their lives learning to live with its limitations. But the Bible says that we can be spiritually blind and yet think we see quite well. . . The reality of spiritual blindness has important implications for the Christian community. The Hebrews passage clearly teaches that personal insight is the product of community. I need you in order to really see and know myself. Otherwise, I will listen to my own arguments, believe my own lies, and buy into my own delusions. My self-perception is as accurate as a carnival mirror. If I am going to see myself clearly, I need you to hold the mirror of God’s Word in front of me" (Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, pp. 53-54).
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This is quite true in and of itself, but the thought needs to be taken a step further. Personal insight indeed should be a product of community, but that community needs to be an environment of speaking the truth in love, with transparency, humility, patience and grace...not fear based...or a culture motivated by self-righteousness and pride. A community of this nature is NOT benefitial to a believer.
Something else to note...I have been thinking and dwelling on this for a LONG time...I also think that the community structure (of the church) as a whole in American society is anemic because of two primary reasons. First, we are simply TOO selfish. Second, we are TOO busy as a result of our selfishness. It is difficult to build relationships even in the BEST of churches that structure their congregations in the fashion of biblical community because of where most of American christians are today. We love ourselves more than others and we are too busy to slow down and build relationships where truth can be conveyed to one another as scripture exhorts, commands, etc., in the context of the church.
Christian families (communities) are falling apart as even the basics are NOT being practiced in the home.
Yep! Mr. Tripp is certainly hitting the nail on the head.
Rick C.
So true, Rick. So true.
My insight comes from personal experience as I struggle with these very sins! I see what is around me because I see it exhibited most in my heart and life...I cannot fix it, only Christ can.
Rick
I think you've hit the nail on the head here.
Over on Leslie's blog I posted the following comment when she expressed her concern over a previous comment someone made saying "Don't get so caught up in the theology that you miss the point..."
I think an often overlooked key to this is the dining alone principle. Few people enjoy dining alone, especially not on a regular basis. The same goes for theology. It's all good to study theology on your own, to read books and think deep thoughts, but rare is the person who can take it to the next level in this context. We need community, interaction, and most importantly push-back. We need to bouce ideas off of others, learn from them, have them challenge things we say. This stirs the coals of the soul, making both people grow. I think blogs can do this in a limited sense. I don't think we can replace face to face time though. Going to lectures is good, but still not on par with sitting down with a couple of people and forcing your brains to grow. I have had a number of opportunities for this type of dialog, and it's not hard to create these situations if they are not going on around you. Seminary has been fantastic for this. Whether it is grabbing a Prof and having lunch, or standing in the halls during a break in class, many great discussions take place.
I expanded on this idea on my own blog, and you can read the rest of my post HERE.
I think in our individualized Western society we have greatly undevalued community. This is where the Emergent Movement seems to be plugging in at and finding success.
Big Chris
Because I said so
I recently read that book; it was excellent, and I think Tripp really presents some great truths there. I am also finding "War of Words" (same author) to be incredibly challenging and helpful to me - certainly "gospel applied"!
A great quote. I may just have to read the book! Thanks for sharing this insight. It's one I've been especially aware of lately, seen and experienced. Once we realize that God works this way, we can open ourselves to the process with greater willingness and trust. Again, thanks for the insight.