I’ve always been something of a naturalist, and somebody who goes by “feel” a lot. I think that’s generally a good thing, but sometimes it can get me in trouble.
An area of my life where I’ve really noticed this lately is my eating habits. No matter what “diet” I try, I always go back to “instinctive” or “intuitive” eating. Again, I think this is a positive, but it usually degenerates into “eat anything I want and don’t stop till I’m stuffed!”
This comes from a lifetime of using food as my escape hatch, like so many do. I’ve covered that over by eating “healthy” or at least “semi-healthy” most of my life, but I have found it is impossible to truly eat healthy while misusing food in this manner.
The “natural” man and the “spiritual” man are therefore at odds, as the Scriptures say…
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”–1 Corinthians 2:14
Likewise, sexual feelings come naturally, especially for men–they’d have to, otherwise we couldn’t populate the earth. And yet, these feelings (which often come from a feeling of love–not purely sex as many women assume)–natural as they are, are obviously not something that we should just act out whenever we feel like it!
This is what gets so many people into trouble: embracing the “If it feels good, do it!” philosophy that I grew up with in the Seventies, and which has grown into a real “monster” of a movement with no end in sight!
There is certainly a place for a certain “feeling”-based life. As in doing what we love, even eating the foods we enjoy, etc. (as long as they’re healthy!). And there is a way to do that in a “natural” way, but I now realize it is within GOD’S order. He wants us to enjoy our lives, and gravitate toward what “fits” us. But we have to govern our bodily feelings through the peaceful Spirit of God.
And we cannot misuse food, sex, or anything else to cover up negative thoughts and emotions. The more we can let these go, the better. I believe in the basics: simple meditation, prayer, reading of the Bible and other positive content, honest work, and honest relationships (to the best of my ability!).The Spirit is our true Comforter, and in reality, God has made it pretty easy for us if we are willing to let the Spirit guide us and not our thoughts and emotions.
There’s man’s natural and God’s natural. God’s natural makes a lot more sense.
Patrick Rooney is the Founder of OldSchoolUs.com. He promotes natural health, success, and freedom during chaotic times. To reach Patrick, email him at [email protected].
Roy Masters use to say every high is a new low. To me his words were a warning, that anything which comforts us in the wrong way, would only lead to more suffering. Unfortunately that knowledge alone has never been enough to prevent me from seeking unwholesome comforts, but I still think there’s been value in understanding the principle, and my suffering has made sin far less appealing.
Such a true statement, David! So this leads to something we discussed and which I prayed for this morning (and which maybe I’ll write about next!): truthful principles are beautiful, and hepful..helpful… to a point. But we need the counterbalance of internal love to overcome the external counterfeit forms of “love.” That internal love is brought out through meditation, prayer, and realizations we get while we live, work, and interchange with other people. I’m not trying to preach here, and I know you know these things. It’s more for the benefit of the reader. And this is what I’d really like to write about soon (and most of all, DO!): How to KEEP the blessed state of mind throughout the day when we are tempted to judge and hate. I’ve mostly failed in this quest, but am paying more and more attention to it with the intent and hope of holding on to it. This is the “golden ring ” as far as I am concerned, and I think it should be for everyone. Roy Masters spoke and wrote about this in his books.