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MENTAL DISINTEGRATION
Mental disintegration has been the buzz word in the media ever since the Harbhajan
Singh and A.Symonds face-off in the Sydney test snow-balled into a major “racist”
controversy, threatening to divide the cricket world, right down the middle. That ICC
(the governing body of world cricket) got the “monkey” off its back quickly, speaks as
much of its diplomatic nous, as it does of the urgency
of Cricket authorities of
India and Australia to “bury the hatchet and get on with the game”. Going by reactions
in some sections of Cricket Australia, some part of handle of the buried hatchet
still seems to be sticking out, however by and large wise counsel has prevailed and the result?
We have wonderful game of cricket going on, uninterrupted.
When this dicey issue was being discussed threadbare in the media, die-hard Indian fans
defending “Bhajji” testified that his case was one of “more sinned against than sinning”.
Why? They pointed towards the Aussie’s trademark “mental disintegration” tactics aimed
at getting under the competitor’s skin, as the reason for the Indian player’s strong retaliatory outburst.
So what is this “mental disintegration” tactics, all about? For the uninitiated “mental disintegration”
was the phrase coined by a very successful ex-Australian Cricket captain Steve Waugh (he used it without
any qualms in the cricket field), to describe the Aussie strategy of psyching out their opponent’s in
and off the field. To further elucidate the subject, if a warning issued to Indians,
(traditionally never at ease in pacy pitches, before the now famous Perth victory!) by an Aussie
captain even before the tour starts to gear up to “sniff perfume balls” (reference to bouncers whizzing
past their noses), represents an attempted “off the field” mental disintegration formula, then a nasty
question targeted at a batsman from close-in slip cordon on his spouse’s fidelity (Mate, in whose arms,
is your wife now?) is the very definition of an attempted “in the field” mental disintegration tactics.
No wonder, Bhajji hit back, say his supporters, giving the Kangaroos-quite justifiably (?)- a taste
of their own medicine.
While debate may go on endlessly on the sidelines on “who’s right and who’s wrong” on this issue,
let’s switch tracks and come to the more important spiritual realm (high time, some readers might say).
When the word “mental” is being employed, can the word “psychologist” be far away? While, we have praised
God always for being an omnipotent, omnipresent and an omniscient one (sorry, Mr. Google, you can
never compete with Him, who knows everything about everything!), have we ever praised God for being
an omni-psychologist, also? If not, it’s time we do, as there are enough examples in His Word, of
He conditioning the human mind, like a seasoned psychologist does. If feeding Elijah by using “unclean”
Ravens (Leviticus 11:13-15)
as stewards, was a case of preparing His servant “mentally”- in
Old Testament days- to stay in “an unclean” gentile home (that of widow of Zarephath-
I Kings 1:17)
for 3 years, then was not the case of vision to Peter as recorded in
Acts 10:9-16, Almighty’s
distinctive way of conditioning His prejudiced servant’s mind to visit an unclean “gentile home”-
in New Testament days? Yes, it was. No second thoughts on this score, please!
It follows that if God is an omni-psychologist, He must know a thing or three about
“mental disintegration”, Himself! Oh yes, He does! In fact, He can build-up His dear ones’ mentally,
even while mentally disintegrating His enemies. In order to substantiate this point,
let’s board a time machine (God’s Word by creative study is to be enjoyed thoroughly, mind you it’s
sweeter than honey-Psalm 119:103)
and visit the Israelites camped on the other side of River Jordan,
waiting under the leadership of Joshua to launch the “Conquest of Canaan”
(Joshua chapter 3).
To completely comprehend the nuances of this subject “the Conquest of Canaan”, we need to consider
two aspects. Firstly, while on Joshua’s generation lay the daunting responsibility of annihilating
the strong inhabitants of Canaan and seizing the Land flowing with milk and honey, which God had
promised to their forefathers (Genesis 12:6-7),
the picture becomes complete and lucid only when
we focus on the second aspect that is the terrible spiritual state of the Canaanites, at that
point in history. The impending extermination, which loomed before the wicked Canaanites was
actually a just punishment for their horrific sins which amongst others included sacrificing
of the innocent babies to loathsome idols, homosexuality, having sexual relationship
with animals etc (Leviticus 18:21-28).
The latter observation (the imminent just punishment
of the Canaanites) leads to a subject within a subject. Can God punish the heathen,
who do not have His written law and as such may not be bound by it? The Bible answers
this question with an emphatic YES, since “ God’s laws are written within the hearts of
everyone (Jew or gentile)”. Does not the inbuilt divine alarm piece within every human
being (conscience) immediately start ringing, the moment anyone does anything wrong
in violation of God’s moral code of conduct
(Romans 2:12-15)?
Turning to Chapter 3 in the Book of Joshua, we come across four truths laden with insight
(spread out like rich fare on a generous table), which we shall aim to study under the following sub-headings
I. When the biggest, brings out His best
II. Do the possible, leave the impossible to Him
III. When the distance guaranteed His presence
IV. First in, last out
I. When the biggest, brings out His best : Honestly, the great miracle of Jews crossing
the miraculously parted River Jordan has some parallels with astounding miracle Jesus
did in raising the dead Lazarus (John 11).
Remember Jesus made a move to go village of
Bethany (where Lazarus stayed with his two sisters), only after Lazarus had died and
not when he was sick, for only in raising a dead Lazarus more of God’s power would
be manifested.
In this account of parting of waters of River Jordan, do not we see a similarity?
God chose the time, when the River was in spate overflowing its banks (verse 15a)
deliberately to perform the great miracle of parting it, so that this
miracle would leave none in doubt about His great power. Oh how Joshua and his
men needed this mental build up as they were about to launch themselves-equipped by
His power- into a daunting task of conquering Canaan!
Be encouraged by the fact that in our own Christian journey, bigger the trials,
more would be His power of deliverance at our disposal, for His character never changes.
He is the same God yesterday, today and forever
(Heb 13:8).
II. Do the possible, leave the impossible to Him : Continuing with the comparison
of Joshua chapter 3 with
John chapter 11, let’s also focus upon Jesus ordering the well-wishers
of the bereaved family to remove the tombstone of Lazarus
(John 11:39). This was certainly
“possible” for them being well within their physical capacities, so that to
the Lord they could leave the task of accomplishing THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
(raising a man who was dead for four days)!
Let’s also train the spotlight on what the priests were required to do in the
miracle of crossing River Jordan on dry ground. All they were required to do was
“the possible” of laying their foot on the River (verse 15b), while to God remained
the remainder of the task of parting it. Does not the mental reassurance that,
we need not bother about doing the impossible, take a lot of weight off our shoulders,
psyching us up when we face insurmountable problems?
Yes, it pays in our in our Christian sojourn too, when confronted by a seemingly
“Goliathan” problem, to prayerfully do what is possible, leaving the impossible to Him.
All along, if to David belongs the responsibility of slinging the stone at a mighty giant,
to God belongs the task of directing it, to its target! The very thought that God rejoices
in doing the impossible for us, boosts us up psychologically, isn’t it? For instance
whilst sharing the gospel with a rabid atheist, be encouraged to do your part of
sharing what the Lord means to you faithfully and leave the impossible of convicting
and transforming the hard-hearted one to the Lord. Didn’t apostle Paul toe this line
successfully whilst dealing with the Greek philosophers of varied schools of thought
(Acts 17:18-34)?
III. When the distance (from the ark) guaranteed His presence :
Ever wondered why the good Lord ordered that there should be a good half-mile gap between
the Priests carrying the ark (symbolic of God’s presence) and the rest of the people who
followed them (verse 4)? If it were to merely maintain the sanctity of the Holy Ark,
then even a gap of 100 feet would have served the purpose. So what exactly was the “sanctity”
behind maintaining a half-mile gap? The reason was, He wanted all His people
(even those walking at the back) to gaze at the ark only and not cast an eye at surging
walls of water on their either side. Without this half-mile gap, those closer to the
ark would have hindered the view (of the ark) of those who were walking at the rear.
This distance (between ark and the people) guaranteed His presence to all,
giving a psychological boost to them! At the other end of the spectrum is Peter.
Remember what happened to him
(Matt 14:25-30), when he removed his gaze off Jesus
and looked around whilst walking on water? One look at the surging waves and he
disintegrated mentally! God did not want His people to become jittery, as they crossed
the River, because frenzied reaction of even “a few Peters” could trigger a mass
panic reaction leading to a tragic stampede, that’s why He wanted their gaze to be firmly
fixed on the ark.
In the midst of trying circumstances, are we (the modern day followers of the great God)
“keeping our eyes focused on Him” or we getting distracted by the enormity of the problems
at hand? Remembering that His presence is ever with us
(Matt 28:20b) is the sure-shot
way of tiding over difficult circumstances. The whipped and imprisoned Paul and Silas
would vouch for this. No wonder in the midst of a severe adversity, instead of
becoming psychological wrecks, they sang His praises
(Acts 16:25)! The end result?
A miraculous release from imprisonment!!!
IV. First in, last out: In the assembly line of a factory rolling off
finished products, the FIFO (first in, first out) method is adhered to, but what
about the beeline of people crossing River Jordan? It had a strange divine order of its own.
The Priests, who were the “first” to enter the River carrying the ark, were the “last”
to come out of it (verse 17). There they stood in the middle of the River carrying the
ark, stopping the surging waters of River Jordan, needless to say, enduring all the
incidental inconveniences, till all their countrymen numbering up to 20 lacs had
reached the safety of the shore on the other side of River Jordan. What a selfless
action (borne out of steadfast dedication to God), worthy of emulation! Not for these
priests, the selfish desire of reaching the shore first! How could they do it?
BECAUSE, THEY REALIZED THAT BY STANDING IN THE CENTRE OF RIVER JORDAN, THEY WERE
ACTUALLY STANDING RIGHT IN THE CENTRE OF GOD’S WILL, ITSELF! What greater
psychological boost, any servant would need than to know that all his sacrificial
actions are PLEASING TO HIS MASTER!!!
Even as we rejoice about our salvation on receiving Christ into our lives, are
we concerned about “the spiritual safety” of the fellow travelers in our Christian
journey? Are we concerned about their “safe passage” also, to the other side of
“River Jordan”? When our fellow believers backslide do we prayerfully reach out to them
(James 5:19-20) or do we leave them “to their fate”? Honest soul-searching on this
front would do no harm to the cause of Christ! Here I am not talking about the
unsaved millions. Our mission in relation to them is different but at this point,
I am focusing solely on our responsibility vis-à-vis those whose spiritual
lives have gone adrift. Apostle Paul’s epistle to the backslidden Galatian
Church speaks volumes about His concern for those who have gone astray.
Do we exhibit the same burning desire in our task of reclaiming our lost brethren,
even if it means swallowing “the bitter pill” of persecutions and rejections at times?
Our greatest psychological incentive in all these ought to be the realization of
the simple fact that all our actions, HOWEVER DIFFICULT TO PERFORM ARE PLEASING IN HIS SIGHT!!!
After having dwelt upon the ancillary spiritual lessons revolving around the theme
of “mental disintegration”, emanating out of the account of the Jews crossing the
River Jordan, let’s now come to the punch line. What happened as a result of this
stupendous miracle? While, Joshua and his men got a much-needed psychological boost on
realizing that the Almighty was fully on their side, the wicked Canaanites disintegrated
mentally!
“When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings who
lived along the Mediterranean coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan River
so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear
because of them” (Joshua 5:1). Talk of losing a battle, even before the army bugle
has sounded…
So long before even the phrase “mental disintegration” was coined by anyone,
is there any doubt, on who has been holding the patent on the same? Oh Father,
you are not only omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent one but in addition to
all these, you have all along been an OMNI PSYCHOLOGIST also! HALLELUJAH!
Dear Readers, are you not psyched up on realizing this?
(Suresh Manoharan)
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