How I Write Versus How I Live

I’ve been thinking lately how difficult it is to live what I write. In my books like Soul Physicians and Spiritual Friends, I write about living the Christian life and being a Christian friend.

Frequently I fail at both.

While pondering my dilemma, I stumbled upon a quote from Samuel Johnson’s The Rambler (1750, Essay 14). (See Sympathy for Hypocrites by John Zahl at his blog Mockingbird.)

“It is not difficult to conceive that for many reasons a man writes much better than he lives. For, without entering into refined speculations, it may be shown much easier to design than to perform. A man proposes his schemes of life in a state of abstraction and disengagement, exempt from the enticements of hope, the solicitations of affection, the importunities of appetite, or the depressions of fear, and is in the same state with him that teaches upon land the art of navigation, to whom the sea is always smooth, and the wind always prosperous…

We are, therefore, not to wonder that most fail, amidst tumult and snares and danger, in the observance of those precepts, which they laid down in solitude, safety, and tranquility, with a mind unbiased, and with liberty unobstructed… Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practice; since he may be sincerely convinced of the advantages of conquering his passions, without having yet obtained the victory.”

Well put. Two lines summarize it best for me.

“It is not difficult to conceive that for many reasons a man writes much better than he lives.”

“Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practice; since he may be sincerely convinced of the advantages of conquering his passions, without having yet obtained the victory.”

I want to live well what I write. However, I’m not there yet.

More importantly, I want to live well what is written in God’s Word. I’m certainly not there.

I’m thankful for the grace of God in Christ.

Join the Conversation

How do you deal with living imperfectly your own teaching, writing, or counseling?

Trying to Paint Over Bad Paint: The Foolish Futility of Self-Sufficiency 

When we moved into our current home five years ago, we moaned when we saw that the back deck had been painted rather than stained. We tried every known remedy to remove all the paint. The best we could do was remove about 50%.

Of course, that means that, if we’re lucky, we can go two years between having to scrape, prime, and re-paint our deck. We keep having to paint over bad paint. And no matter how good the new paint is, it won’t stick for long. What we really need is a totally fresh start.

Trying to Cover Over Our Sins

After scraping, priming, and painting my deck the past few days, I awoke this morning not only sore, but also reflecting. Ever since Adam and Eve, we have tried to paint over bad paint. We have tried to cover over our sins.

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (Genesis 3:7).

For Adam and Eve, it didn’t work for two years, or even two seconds. Immediately when faced with the pure holy love of God, they “hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8).

Though “covered,” Adam realized they were totally exposed. “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:10).

Receiving God’s Coverings

What did Adam and Eve need instead? What do we need? They needed to receive God’s covering rather than trying to cover their sin on their own.

“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

So why try to cover? It’s much more than ignorance; it’s foolishness. It’s much more than self-effort; it’s willful, arrogant self-sufficient, proud rebellion.

John R. Stott reveals the depraved nature of our self-sufficient souls.

“The proud human heart is there revealed. We insist on paying for what we have done. We cannot stand the humiliation of acknowledging our bankruptcy and allowing somebody else to pay for us. The notion that this somebody else should be God himself is just too much to take. We would rather perish than repent, rather lose ourselves than humble ourselves. . . . But we cannot escape the embarrassment of standing stark naked before God. It is no use our trying to cover up like Adam and Eve in the garden. Our attempts at self-justification are as ineffectual as their fig-leaves. We have to acknowledge our nakedness, see the divine substitute wearing our filthy rags instead of us, and allow him to clothe us with his own righteousness” (Stott, The Cross of Christ, pp. 162-163).

Our God-Dependent Response to Our Sin

In Soul Physicians, I imagine a God-dependent response to our sin looking something like a combination of Genesis 3 with the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15).

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked. Standing exposed as sinfully failed and flawed male and female, naked before Him with whom they have to deal.

Then the naked man and the naked woman heard the song of the LORD God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, as He always had for fellowship. And they stayed.

Adam cried out to God, ‘I am unworthy to be called Your son, for I have sinned against You in my self-sufficiency. I have failed to be the courageous man You designed and called me to be. I have been a coward rather than a protector. Make me like one of your animals, for I am soul-less.’

Eve cried out to God, ‘I am unworthy to be called Your daughter, for I have sinned against You in my self-sufficiency. I have failed to be the completing woman You designed and called me to be. I have poisoned rather than nourished. Make me like one of Your animals, for I am soul-less.”

Instead, the LORD God slew the precious animals He had handcrafted. He shed blood. Carefully, tenderly, with tears streaming down His face, He hand-crafted robes of righteousness for his son and daughter.

Then He ran to them, threw His arms around them, and kissed them repeatedly. Father said to His angelic servants, ‘Quick, bring the best robes that I have hand-crafted and put them on my son and my daughter. Put wedding rings on their fingers and sandals of peace on their feet. Bring the fatted calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine and this daughter of mine were dead and they are alive again.’ So they began to celebrate!” (Soul Physicians, p. 105).

Grace means never having to cover my sin. But Adam and Eve, having doubted God’s goodness, do not focus on His grace. Instead of depending upon God, they depend upon self.

Being naked and afraid, they hide. They turn their backs on and run from God. They work, sewing fig leaves together to make coverings for themselves. They attempt to make themselves acceptable by trying to beautify their ugliness.

In the flesh, we use every strategy at our disposal, every scheme we can imagine, to not need God’s grace. But our efforts are futile. Much more than trying to cover over old paint, we’re trying to cover over sin with the greatest sin of all—works-righteousness and self-sufficiency.

Join the Conversation

What fig leaves do we sew to cover our shame? What view of God does such shame and hiding suggest?

He Is Risen! I’m Risen Too!

We all love to exchange the traditional Easter greeting:                              

“He is risen.”

“He’s risen indeed!”

The Bible suggests that Christians add another greeting:

“He is risen.”

“I’m risen, too!”

Resurrected with Christ

The Apostle Paul says it plainly. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above” (Colossians 3:1).

In Ephesians, Paul goes even further in applying Christ’s resurrection to the Christian. He prays that we might know, “His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him the dead” (Ephesians 1:19-20).

The same power that resurrected Christ resides in every Christian.

Tapping into Our RPMs

Of course, any honest Christians has to ask, “If I’m raised with Christ, if I have the same power implanted in me that raised Christ, then why don’t I live like I’m dead to sin?”

The answer is simple, yet profound. Instead of living victoriously in Christ, we live defeated lives because we try to live in our own power.

Paul tried the same futile approach before he became a Christian—placing his confidence in his own strength (Philippians 3:1-6). That’s why as a believer his focus was laser-like. “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10).

Paul understood what we must understand—we have to tap into Christ’s resurrection power. We have to avail ourselves of and apply the empowerment that’s already in us.

We don’t do that alone. In Ephesians 3, Paul prays that we, “may have power together with all the saints” to know Christ’s love, to be filled with God’s fullness, and to experience the immeasurable power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:17-21).

We need “RPMs.” No, not Revolutions Per Minute. But Resurrection Power Multipliers. (Which explains why I call my ministry “RPM Ministries.”) As we commune with Christ and connect with Christians we tap into Christ’s resurrection power. As we cling to Christ the Vine, His power flows into our lives so that we can produce fruit to His glory.

Applying Our Identity in Christ

One of the most powerful ways we can “tap into Christ’s resurrection power” is through knowing, memorizing, meditating upon, and applying the truth of our new identity in Christ. We are co-crucified with Christ and we are co-resurrected with Christ. We are more than conquerors in Christ. We are saints with a new nature and sons and daughters with new power.

To help Christians to apply these truths, I’ve created a five-page resource Who I Am In Christ  (excerpted from Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction). It paraphrases over 150 verses about your new identity in Christ. Applying these truths to your life will help you to personalize the reality that, “He is risen. So am I!”

Join the Conversation

Which of the verses concerning your identity in Christ will you apply in order to tap into Christ’s resurrection power?

Soul Physicians Book Trailer: The Remedy to Secular Psychology 

Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction is the remedy to secular psychology.

Learn more about Soul Physicians as you enjoy the video book trailer where I share about:

• The main message of Soul Physicians

• What motivated me to write Soul Physicians (I think you’ll be surprised…)

• Who is the target audience for Soul Physicians (Hint—You!)

• What’s unique about Soul Physicians?

Watch the video on our RPM Ministries YouTube Channel.

Visit our Soul Physicians page to read a free sample chapter and learn how you can order an autographed copy of Soul Physicians at 45% off.

Emotional Intelligence: The ABCs of Emotions

Part 14: Free Thirty-Page PDF: Learning the Biblical ABCs of Emotional Intelligence

Introduction: You’re reading Part 14 (the final installment) in a blog mini-series on Emotional Intelligence. Read Part 1: Emotions: God’s Idea, Part 2: Why We Feel What We Feel, Part 3: Good News about Good Moods, Part 4: What Went Wrong?, Part 5: Our Emotions and Our Bodies, Part 6: How’s Your EI?, Part 7: How to Help Others, Part 8: Emotions Gone Mad, Part 9: What’s Wrong with Stuffing?, Part 10: Holding Onto Hope, and Part 11: Learning the ABCs of Emotional Maturity, Part 12: Five Tools for Your Emotional Toolbox, and Part 13: A Dozen Emotional Intelligence Lesson Plans. I’ve developed this series from material in my book Soul Physicians.

Free Resource: Your PDF Copy of Learning the Biblical ABCs of Emotional Intelligence

RPM Ministries is all about changing lives with Christ’s changeless truth. I know you want a changed life. And I know you want to change lives.

Because of that vision, I want to offer you a free thirty-page PDF version of this entire series. For the PDF version, I’ve renamed the series: Learning the Biblical ABCs of Emotional Intelligence. Click on that title, and “poof” the document is yours to use in your life and ministry.

More Resources for Your Journey: The Remedy for Secular Psychology

If you find that resource (and this blog mini-series) practical in your life and ministry, then I think you will also find the original source to be beneficial: Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. Click on the book title to learn more about Soul Physicians and to purchase a copy at 40% off.

Soul Physicians is the remedy to secular psychology. It explores how God’s Word addresses life’s seven ultimate questions. It equips you to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth.

Emotional Intelligence: The ABCs of Emotions

Part 13: A Dozen Emotional Intelligence Lesson Plans 

Introduction: You’re reading Part 13 in a blog mini-series on Emotional Intelligence. Read Part 1: Emotions: God’s Idea, Part 2: Why We Feel What We Feel, Part 3: Good News about Good Moods, Part 4: What Went Wrong?, Part 5: Our Emotions and Our Bodies, Part 6: How’s Your EI?, Part 7: How to Help Others, Part 8: Emotions Gone Mad, Part 9: What’s Wrong with Stuffing?, part 10: Holding Onto Hope, and Part 11: Learning the ABCs of Emotional Maturity, and Part 12: Five Tools for Your Emotional Toolbox. I’ve developed this series from material in my book Soul Physicians.

Reviewing God’s Lesson Plans for Emotional Intelligence—The “What?” Question

What are the key emotional lessons we’ve learned in the ABCs of emotional intelligence? In keeping with our “ABC” theme, I’ll review the “big idea” of each of our twelve posts using the first twelve letters of the alphabet.

A: Accept that emotions were/are God’s idea—they are God-given. (Emotions: God’s Idea)

B: Biblically break down our emotions before we have an emotional breakdown—learn the biblical formula for why we feel what we feel. (Why We Feel What We Feel)

C: Creation shows us the good news about good moods. (Good News about Good Moods)

D: Disordered moods result from disconnection from Christ, while reordered moods result from soothing our soul in our Savior. (Emotions: What Went Wrong?)

E: Embrace the fact that our brains are a fallen organ in a fallen body in a fallen world—and embrace God’s all-sufficient strength. (Our Bodies and Our Emotions)

F: Figure your EQ/EI: emotional quotient/emotional intelligence. (How’s Your Emotional Intelligence?)

G: Give the gift of emotional growth by being a spiritual friend who helps others to grow emotionally. (How to Help Others)

H: Hurting others with out-of-control spearing of our emotions. (Emotions Gone Bad and Mad)

I: Injuring ourselves and others by over-controlled repression (stuffing) of our feelings. (What’s Wrong with Stuffing Our Feelings?)

J: Jesus is our only hope for…holding onto hope when life tries to crush us. (Holding Onto Hope)

K: Kindergarten lessons in emotional maturity—all we ever needed to know about emotional maturity we can learn from Christ. (Learning the ABCs of Emotional Maturity)

L: Learning five hallmarks of emotional maturity. (Five Tools for Your Emotional Toolbox)

Renewing Our Emotional Maturity in Christ—The “So What?” Question

We review and we renew. We not only ask “What?” but also “So what?” So what difference could this blog mini-series make in your emotional maturity process?

A: How does it change your thoughts about your feelings when you realize that emotions were God’s idea?

B: Ponder a current situation you are facing. Use our “formula” to assess the situation and your emotional response. Our External Situation plus our Internal Perception leads to our Emotional Response.

C: How could you use the good news about good moods to enjoy and benefit from your emotions and moods, rather than fearing and fleeing them?

D: How can you sooth your soul in your Savior in order to manage your moods in a healthy and whole way?

E: How can you embrace your emotional and physical weakness in order to embrace Christ’s resurrection power?

F: What biblical principles could you follow to enhance your emotional intelligence?

G: What principle of emotional mentoring do you want to offer others?

H: If you’ve used your emotions as a spear to harm others, what is God’s Word calling you to do?

I: How surprised are you that repressing, suppressing, and stuffing our feelings is just as harmful and sinful as using our feelings as spears?

J: How can you find hope when you’re hurting by finding God’s healing for life’s losses?

K: How can you learn from Christ in the school of emotions?

L: Of the five tools in your emotional toolbox, which one do you most want to sharpen?

The Rest of the Story

You thought we were done, didn’t you? Almost, but not quite. Our final post is my gift to you. Come back to find the link to this entire series in one PDF document that you can download for free from RPM Ministries.

Join the Conversation

Of the dozen posts in this series, which post most impacted your life and ministry? Why? How?