Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
The Mind was Willing, the Passions Were Weak, but God Willing, We Can Overcome

The Mind was Willing, the Passions Were Weak, but God Willing, We Can Overcome

Last updated on: October 6, 2019 at 10:40 pm by John Mark N. Reynolds

The Mind was Willing, the Passions Were Weak, but God Willing, We Can Overcome 2019-10-06T22:40:24-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Near Thing

I miss beauty, truth, and goodness, because my mind and spirit are willing, but the rest of me is weak. Maybe the same is true of you, but all I know is that distractions can get in the way of learning. This weekend I slogged through the noise of life to learn, but it was not easy.

What was happening on Facebook? Was my Twitter feed blowing up with breaking news? Hope (the Fairest Flower in Christendom) looks nice over there on the couch. When is the pizza coming? Are the Packers going to be any good without Davonte Adams?

Useless distractions threatened to keep me from something good. Often in my life this has happened, but I escaped, by God’s good grace. I was about to learn something, but there was danger that distractions, passions, would keep me from seeing God. This has been too often a problem and I have repented, but here was another chance to focus and do better this time. Oddly, the very book we were studying, Plato’s Republic, dealt with the issue, so I was prepared. I cleared my mind (put away my phone!) and focussed on the text, listened to the my fellow students at the College, and generations of former students.

The story and the students helped me and the results were wonderful, but first some backstory.

An Ancient Story

Imagine a young man and a teacher who have finally seen justice with mercy. Despite all temptations, they have kept looking, discussing, and communing. They do not deserve mercy, they have lingered too long with tyrannical ideas, yet despite this persist. They want justice. Those who love money or power more than wisdom have become quiet as the good God reveals ideas to the persistent students.

Then the entire conversations is (nearly) destroyed. Why? Socrates uses an example that distracts, obsesses, the listeners. To see justice, Socrates has created a Sim-City. This simple city has one purpose: reveal justice in a city. The details do not matter anymore than my cutting off a river in Township is environmentally dangerous: it’s just a game.

The young men are eager to discuss suddenly, including the tyrant-maker, a teacher-for-hire- Thrasymachus. They long to hear more about the women, and making children, and some good old mockery of philosophy. They are full of passion, but not much virtue :

“Yes,” he said, “but this ‘right,’ like the rest, is in need of argument as to what the manner of the community is. There could be many ways. So don’t pass over the particular one you mean, since we’ve been waiting all this time supposing you would surely mention begetting of children—how they’ll be begotten and, once born, how they’ll be reared—and that whole community of women and children of which you speak. We think it makes a big difference, or rather, the whole difference, in a regime’s being right or not right. Now, since you’re taking on another regime before having adequately treated these things, we’ve resolved what you heard—not to release you before you’ve gone through all this just as you did the rest.”*

Mention the “biological function” and some students will be distracted. Suggest that study and virtue are necessary to the good life and anger will be added to desire. Most of the people in the room would rather talk about sex than justice, which is common, but unwise. The entire discussion is hijacked and the same-old same-old is discussed as desire takes over from wisdom.

As often is the case, the mind was willing, but desire was stronger than the mind.

Why?

Plato suggests what Sacred Scripture reveals: we must learn moderation– the ability to say “sufficient” and turn from our desires to the good, truth, and beauty. This is not easy, but the molding our own souls to do this task is a chief purpose of all good education.

The old story helped me and I turned off my social media, listened to what was being said, and learned. Most of all, I said “no” and moderated my soul. If only I had done so in more serious areas in my youth! The joy was great as others taught me, my soul was stilled, and desire gave way to reason. Yet at the end of such a small victory, I recall greater defeats. This is why we look for wisdom, but we pray for mercy. By the time we learn to do right, we have too often done wrong.

Wisdom cries out, desire tempts, yet by God’s good grace our weak wills can be strengthened and turn towards what is best. Oddly, our desires, once tamed, also will be satisfied. Wisdom is better than our distractions.

————————————————————-

*Plato, Republic Book V (Bloom translation)

Education

On Books

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

October 5, 2019

Beware the Magi and Tyrant-Makers (Reflections on Republic IX)

Next Post

October 7, 2019 Threnody gone through Therapy? (A Thought From Republic)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many men did Joshua initially send to Ai?

Select your answer to see how you score.

5,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »