Replying to Avatar Jeff Swann

I agree with the article in a general sense. But this sentence...

"Do not rely on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge the Lord."

I think the effort to separate understanding as something different from our ability to observe & experience reality is kinda the same problem that the "believe the science" crowd suffers from. I don't think God wants us to renounce the use of our God given faculties & resort to some sort of blind acceptance & I don't think there's any sort of natural struggle between acknowledgement of God & understanding. The word "acknowledge" actually undermines the implied separation. To acknowledge is to incorporate a thing into your own understanding.

The goal is to eliminate the internal division & align all parts of ourselves. There are no sacrifices, only things we want & costs to get there. There are also costs for choosing indulgence over higher aims. A healthy person makes decisions based on all of their best knowledge. The internal struggle is an imaginary form of self deception we use to pat ourselves on the back for doing the thing we really wanted anyway, & then often to justify indulgence as a periodic "reward" for all of our imaginary struggle. It's idiotic & self destructive.

Too often religious people choose to identify with their whims & attribute what they know is the better idea to some outside force. Thoughts are like the weather. You don't have to feel guilty about or identify with the dumb ones. Your understanding that they are dumb & wrong allows them to be easily dismissed for better ideas. People who pour energy into "why did I dare to have that thought," & beat themselves up about it, are actually only asking for more. We get more of what we focus on.

That statement means to not live according to your own whims and feelings, but to obey God's word even when it isn't what you want or seems counter intuitive. It doesn't mean to not use your brain or not think. It's forsaking your sinful desires to do what is right according to God's word. Low time preference living is a part of that.

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Glad to see you posting on nostr. Keep up the good work 🫂🤙💜

Can't stop won't stop

Read what I wrote again & then read what you just said.

It sounds like you identify with your high time preference thoughts & attribute low time preference desires to God.

Yes. My sinful nature wants to live high time preference. But i don't lean on my understanding (my natural inclination to do the high time preference thing and all the excuses i come up in my mind about why its not so bad), I acknowledge the Lord and seek to do the low time preference thing.

I think that sounds like a recipe for extremely low self esteem, among all sorts of other problems. The ideas that you have are all part of you. To attribute only bad ideas to yourself & good ideas to God is really self destructive IMO.

You may think so but I do and I have joy and peace and high self worth.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

That's the full verse. It's basically saying to not trust yourself, but to trust God and obey His law. Our hearts are deceitful, we cannot trust our own intuitions to lead us. If you think you can, go ahead and do it, but I don't. I choose to lean on God's word. My mind is submitted to the word of God.