Inertia and Spiritual formation: What I am is not what I will be

I've been thinking a lot about inertia lately. Inertia says that an object in motion will continue in motion until acted upon by an outside force. Objects at rest will do the same. As a spiritual principle... I'll continue to do what I've always done unless something stops me. I don't have to look very far to see this reality. My habits, thoughts, and reactions are the same as they used to be, and will remain so until something changes them. My defeats come from inertia. Forward motion is only stopped by a greater force in an opposite direction. Faith says that the outside force is God through the Holy Spirit. There is a new motion in Christ. There is not simply new motion - some sort of pauper in prince's clothing thing - I am a new thing all together. But this new thing is bearing old fruit because I forgot to get started in the right direction. There's the same old inertia moving this brand new thing.

Side note: I think that's why mission is such a vital part of spiritual formation. Paul writes that you who have used your hands to steal should use your hands to build. That's redemption. That's opposite inertia.

Side note 2: That's why disciplines work. They are inertia breakers. Silence stops the noise and lets you hear the voices that compel you. Solitude removes the external pressures so that God's internal pressure can move you forward. On and on through the disciplines. They help stop what is steaming ahead and create the surface area in my life for God to stop the motion.

We aren't simply physical beings. We are animated by our souls. Our souls are known as they manifest themselves through our thoughts, which manifest themselves in action (see Dallas Willards Renovation of the Heart for a more thorough discussion of the soul). As our thoughts are altered, so will our lives be altered. The first place inertia must be addressed is in the mind. Be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Let your new life be manifested by a new way of thinking.

As a human, I'm prone to addictions and compulsions of all kinds. I am always looking for new ways to tether myself to something. These are the substances of my intertia... the things that keep me moving in a direction. Consider inertia in such areas as my cynicism. The reason I continue in a cynical frame of mind is because when I see an opportunity to scoff, my mind dwells on it until it becomes as "real" as my hands or feet. What started in my brain finds its fulfillment only after I've given permission to it in my thoughts. I've lingered with the thought because that's what I've always done. Inertia. It's also why the scripture tells us to think on things that are right, pure, noble, and true. Those things are intertia breakers. They're also outside of the scope of my powers. They are totally God. The power in me that is able to break my destructive inertia is the presence of God. God not only stops my forward motion, He erases the tracks in the sand. Where I am is a product of where I've been, but it no longer has to be the trajectory that defines where I am going.

How, then, do I become less cynical (for instance)? Well, first off I have to stop moving in the direction of cynicism. Practically, that means staying away from places, things, and people that reinforce that. It also means not going to the place in me where "the cynic" calls home and makes his base of operations. Don't linger in the place of temptation because the slightest move begins or continues inertia (that's a discussion of momentum... another topic of relevance I think). That stops inertia, but it leaves me in the place I am, and that's no good. Where I am is among the wreckage I've created by going to that place. Reminders are everwhere, and they have already proven big enough to get me moving the wrong way again. So I can't just stop inertia, I must reverse it.

That's when discipleship happens. When I stop following the drives of my old self, I can begin following Christ. Practically that means replacing the parts that drove me to be cynical with the things that drive me to Christ. The foibles of the foolish or requests made with tearful emotional pleas are opportunities for cynicism, but if I replace those with a move to prayer, then I'm on the road to breaking inertia. Over time inertia will begin moving the other way. To continue on and pick up speed in this new direction moves us into the realm of momentum, which is perhaps the next discipleship principle.

As for now, I'm setting about the process of breaking inertia. Thomas Merton prayed, "Justify my soul, O God, but also from your fountains fill my will with Fire. Shine in my mind, although perhaps this means "be darkness to my experience," but occupy my heart with your tremendous life. Let my eyes see nothing in the world but your glory, and let my hands touch nothing that is not for your service. Let my tongue taste no bread that does not strengthen me to praise your great mercy. I will hear your voice and I will hear all harmonies you have created, singing your hymns. Sheeps wool and cotton from the field shall warm me enough that I may live in your service; I will give the rest to your poor. Let me use all things for one sole reason: to find my joy in giving you glory." amen.