THE RHYTHM OF THE SOUL

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God." I have a sense that the stillness God is calling us to here is not merely physical. It goes beyond sitting quietly at a table for more than five minutes, or even kneeling before Him in prayer for an hour or more. The stillness I humbly suggest He is calling us to is a stillness of the soul. A stillness in which there is a profound awareness of His sovereignty and care. How is that achieved? Part of it, for me at least, involves turning off the external, useless noise around me. This week I've been conducting a little experiment. I usually have a small radio on my kitchen windowsill. When I find myself in the kitchen, which is a lot of the time, I'll turn it on to either the local talk radio or NPR. Ever since reading Ken Myers' All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes, God has been quietly convicting me to examine the ways in which I babysit my brain with media. On page 55 of his book he quotes Pascal who said, "All the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber....They have a secret instinct which impels them to seek amusement and occupation abroad, and which arises from the sense of their constant unhappiness." We were meant for something greater and more meaningful. The problem comes when we, and I, settle for the twaddle that comes out of the radio or the TV. I need to ask myself the question, "Am I turning on the _____ (computer, TV, radio, etc.) deliberately or out of habit." I've realized, with Mr. Myers' help, that these electronic devices are not a neutral medium. Yes, I should be aware of the content, but I should also be aware of the mind-numbing, soul-deadening effect of the thing just being on. He quotes Ernest Van den Haag as saying, "All mass media in the end alienate people from personal experience and, though appearing to offset it, intensify their moral isolation from each other, from reality and from themselves. One may turn to the mass media when lonely or bored. But mass media, once they become a habit, impair the capacity for meaningful experience. Though more diffuse and not as gripping, the habit feeds on itself, establishing a vicious circle as addictions do."

Bingo. Light bulb moment here!

This past week without the kitchen radio has been very enlightening. I have found myself numerous times reaching for the thing on the windowsill like it was an involuntary reaction. I needed it because I was bored with the stillness. But God says to be still. He also says to love Him with all our mind. How do you love with your mind? Well, you can use your mind to pray, contemplate, and meditate on His word. What I have been discovering is that when I focus my mind on Him instead of allowing it to be babysat by Rush Limbaugh, then the stillness of my mind filters into my soul. The meaningful things I'm thinking about are controlling the rhythm of my soul. No longer is my soul banging out the frenetic rhythm of John Adams'
Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Now my soul is peacefully following the rhythms of a perfectly ordered Mozart symphony.

Are you listening to the rhythm of your soul? What is it saying?