There is an age old belief in the
world. One that has existed for hundreds if not thousands of years.
One that has wormed its way even into the church. The idea is
expressed in many ways and different words are used each time it
surfaces. The concept is generally referred to as Dualism. In a
nutshell the belief states that reality is essentially separated into
two halves: the spiritual and physical. The physical is inherently
evil and the spiritual inherently good. You'll find this idea spread
across the globe in eastern religions and even in the Roman Catholic
church and you'd think that the idea has some merit but sadly it does
not.
The physical, the flesh, the world and
everything in it: to the dualist these are evil and tainted and must
be removed from our lives. Desires are something that taint us and
only when we are free from these earthly yearnings will we find
righteousness. It's easy to see why this belief is so prevalent,
what with all the war and greed and want in the world. So many
people fight a daily war with their own bodies and minds that it
makes sense to blame it all on the flesh and the world, to yearn to
escape from all this and be freed from all these desires so
unfulfillable. We see the monastic movements and the cave dwelling
hermits seeking absolution in a grave existence of self punishment
and denial. Men and women driven to celibacy by their lusts or even
just the normal desires of the human body. Churches lay bare of even
the most rudimentary of decoration or of a single note of music for
fear of waking these evil tides of the flesh. All of this can be
seen from one corner of the globe to the other, but are we fighting
shadows?
“In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
(Genesis
1:1)
“Then
God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So
the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
(Genesis
1:31)
Do you realize the implication of those verses? God
created the heavens and the earth. God, who can do no evil. God who
bends all things to His perfect will. God who can make no mistakes,
created the earth and sky and everything and it was “very good.”
How then can you say that the physical is evil by its very nature?
How can the physical be necessarily evil when its very origin is in
the great God almighty?
“For
we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places.”
(Ephesians
6:12)
Furthermore, we can plainly see that merely being
spiritual is not enough to be righteous. The fallen angels and satan
himself are of a completely spiritual nature and yet they are the
very core of evil in existence! What matters is not merely being
spiritual but being spiritually right! God did not come as Jesus to
make us spiritual but to make us right with God. Man, from the
beginning, has been a being both spiritual and physical. What makes
us evil is not our physicality but our separation and rebellion
against a Holy God. This is why it's a false idea to think we will
spend eternity as spirits or as 'angels'. We were created to be
physical beings and we will spend eternity as such, albeit glorified.
The point is not to eliminate all desire, for we desire
to be with God. Our aim is not to shun all physical things, as they
are gifts from our loving Father. Our goal is not to be a purely
spiritual people, as that would require denying part of who we are.
The point is to enjoy this world in a manner that honors God and is
in line with His will. We never let our desires lead us off the road
laid before us and we never let things become the primary motive
force in our lives. When viewed and used rightly, this physical
world can bring great joy and show us yet another aspect of our
Glorious God.
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