Day 347- Predictable Patterns
📖Daily Reading
Revelation 2
🎥 Video
Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learn a practical applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgement zone here, all are welcome, we are all on a spiritual journey because we are after all spiritual beings having a human experience.
📝 Reflection
Revelation 2: 2-5
' “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. '
In Revelation 1 we were given a summary of a vision that John had about the Son of Man. In his right hand he held seven stars and he was surrounded by seven lamp stands. We were told that the stars represents messages that were for the seven prominent churches at the time. So continuing on in chapter 2 we are given four of those messages. I have included some of the first message above to the church of Ephesus. Also in chapter two were messages to Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. The message were very similar in structure. Here is what I think is good or acceptable about you and here is my complaint and I would recommend you get with the program…
I am putting this in my own casual language of course. Being a student of human psychology, personality, ego and the enneagram I couldn’t help but see a pattern beyond just the pattern of the messages. We humans like to think we are special and unique individuals but really we are pretty predictable. If there are predictable personality types and patterns in individuals it can be assumed that groups, churches, communities, cultures, nations also have predictable patterns.
The seven deadly sins are just such a pattern. So much so, that this is much of what psychology and personality ‘disorders’ get there information from. When an individual attaches to certain motivations and fears a persona or a personality forms around it. And personality itself is a set of predictable consistent set of behaviors that people identify with to the point it become their identity. People often attract like minded people, which makes sense, but when this happens at the exclusion of diversity we get group patterns emerging as well that mimic the individuals that comprise the group. So predictable patterns are at the micro and macro levels.
It seems that the churches each have fallen prey to the passions, foolishness or deadly sins predominate in their group. To recap the seven deadly sins or passions are greed, lust, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy and anger. I am not sure if I am right, but this is what I picked up in these messages. The motives and the predictable patterns that will arise as a result that we need to be aware of at the individual level, at the group and leadership levels.
The good news that when we humble ourselves and die to ourselves and learn to subdue and detach from the ego the same motives will produce virtues or wisdom. This isn’t just good news, it is great news. When love comes into the life of the believer, the full experience then the motive to be wise and get over the self become stronger and more dominant. But we must be vigilant, the ego is always there waiting for us to get complacent and step back in. I think this was the message to the churches. Be careful your future depends on your current spiritual health and being proactive and intentional. Remaining humble and open but discerning and cunning.
This reminds me of the verse from Matthew when Jesus was sending out the twelve: “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.’
For me personally, my particular ego or sin pattern is sloth. My main motivation is peace. When I am on autopilot and operating from my personality, sloth can show up as extreme people pleasing. So instead of doing what I need to be doing, I get busy helping others, other times I get overwhelmed and I can tend to want to ‘check out’ or withdraw. This is an oversimplification of course. This perspective and my ego is only concerned about the here and now. When I get over this ego drive, I think longer term and realize that for long term, deeper and true peace I need to do what is mine to do, have hard conversations, take care of myself, I offer authentic help vs. the people pleasing type. A wise person motivate by peace understands that peace involves leaning into conflict, problem solving, checking in vs checking out etc.. Hopefully this helps. This is what I think the vision messages are asking the churches to do, look in the mirror and evaluate their heart and their motives.
✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt
How can you be as shrewd as a snake with noticing your own patterns and the patterns you get caught up in and identify with? How can you be as harmless as a dove and notice and practice detaching from your foolish patterns? How can you use your same motivations to choose more wisely and be a sheep that can survive among the wolves?
📖Tomorrows Reading
Revelation 3
Coaching Opportunity
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