Just because I am a mystic doesn’t mean I ignore the facts.
I am still trapped in this broken reality and still subject to how it works. That’s why I make so much of God’s Law Covenants. While they point to ineffable truth, they still demand much of human flesh in the process.
Granted, I cling to an intellectual approach very much at odds with most of this world. Yet I have always maintained that the biblical mysticism does not reject what most men consider reason and logic. What it does is regard Aristotle’s logic as insufficient to handle divine truth. Such logic is just fine if you ignore morality and the Spirit Realm from whence it descends.
We do not deny the observations of science insofar as they go. We deny that science can arrive at what really matters, and most certainly cannot answer questions of moral imperative.
How much of a computer ministry would I have if I ignored computer science? I don’t wave my Bible over the machinery, nor stand around it holding hands with the owners, chanting to cast out demons. I do what just about every other computer technician does investigating the complaints of the user. I do pray before I arrive at the machine, but that’s usually a request for a clear mind and sharp memory.
Sometimes I pray for patience to handle the owner’s foolish notions about computers and what to expect from them.
For most issues, there is more than one way to handle things. Sometimes I take the long way around and realize that only later. But I seldom give up until I can pin it down to something I know about or realize it is beyond my expertise. Sometimes I can research it for awhile and figure it out. If not, I tell them I cannot help them and make a referral.
I tell the facts. I don’t offer them some palliative that might make us both feel good while failing to actually change the facts. It’s a ministry, so I have nothing to sell and nothing to gain from faking it. Given my ardent support for Linux over Windows, I still may never mention it because it just doesn’t seem to fit the occasion. Context is everything, but my preference for Linux is not everyone’s answer.
Your mission in this life must inevitably include giving the best you know. You should already know that what’s best for you may not work for others. Make a conscious effort to avoid the trap of needing affirmation from others for what drives you. If it isn’t already inside you, then there’s something missing and you are going to do more damage than good. You will wind up pursuing that affirmation instead of the truth.
Truth cannot be promoted with deception; God does not gain glory from manipulation.
