Personal Growth vs Spiritual Transformation

This week's Tuesday morning meeting with my pastor, David Gibbs, focused on the seemingly plethora of Personal Growth materials available.  The EntreLeadership podcast has guest interviewees on each episode, many of whom have written on the area of personal growth.  The question comes about, how does personal growth interact with spiritual transformation?

Rather than merely raise more questions, I would actually like to answer some.

Are PG and ST identical? NO
Are PG and ST similar? Yes
Are PG and ST compatible? Yes
Are PG and ST biblical? That is a good question.
Are PG and ST both necessary? Yes
Can one substitute for the other? See question 1 above, and NO.

So how do these two relate? Definitions are in order.  Personal Growth is a human initiated change of action/behavior/perception/knowledge that creates a more competent human in some selected area, finances, leadership, sales, oration, etc.  Spiritual Transformation is a divinely initiated change of spiritual character in an often time, undesired area. In other words, Personal Growth is a fleshly activity while Spiritual Transformation is a, need I say it, spiritual activity.

Whoa. I just lost some of you.  Personal Growth is not by definition, sinful. Flesh can have two connotations: physical and finite, or else self-centered.  By claiming that Personal Growth is fleshly, the only statement I am making is that Personal Growth has limits and takes place in our physical existence.

Is PG therefore not spiritual? NO

This question can be answered in the affirmative if one holds that the spiritual dominion of God is separate from and does not contain the physical dominion of humanity, in other words, heaven and earth are separate and unrelated spheres of existence. That position, to return to question 4 above, is definitely unbiblical, if not even abiblical.

Personal Growth in all its variations is therefore not sinful, the sinfulness enters the picture when humans begin to idolize the fleshly behavior and ignore the Creator. Spiritual Transformation is in the same fashion not always righteous. When Spiritual Transformation becomes the all encompassing ideal, and one forgets it is a process by which God makes us more useful within his kingdom, then it has become finite and limited and is now subject to all the problems that PG can face.

God has not created us to remain stagnant! God has not redeemed us through the demonstration of his love for us to fall again into idolatry! Rather God has brought us into his dominion in order that we might submit ourselves to him and to one another (Eph 5) so that his will might be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven.

It's Getting Scary

What does one do when, while teaching a class on the Minor Prophets, one's pastor starts preaching from HOSEA? Is there an echo in the house??? Having moved away from Hosea some 4 weeks ago and progressed through six prophets and one hundred years of history in class, is it possible that HOSEA has something to speak to the society today?

What are the idols that modern American "people of God" are having affairs with? Is it possible that we use the resources provided to us by God's loving care to "run off to Vegas with a whore?" Wouldn't it be simpler if we simply built temples and had ticket booths, oops, did I really say that, I mean if we had specifically declared offerings that were to be given so that it would be easy to NAME that IDOL. But, since we don't have any idols in the modern world, does Hosea actually have anything to say to us today?

"Harlotry" sounds like idolatry to me

Well, another day in the world of Davis 301 and the Minor Prophets. Today's topic, Micah! After being pummeled by Hosea and his wife Gomer (i.e., STOP!) and the apparent sexual immorality of the whole book (not!, but significant 13 times with Harlot alone), it was a relief to move to Amos, (only once). But here we are again in Micah and the first thing you know we're talking about harlot wages and idols. WHAT do these guys have against the world's oldest profession?? Then I tried to use a very strange word for my class, misogyny. Are these Minor Prophets really against sex for money?

Well, while that is entirely possible, it probably misses the point entirely! What they are definitely against is idolatry in its various forms. What an amazing business the craftsmen must have had in forging, carving, or sculpting these objects of worship!! And how did they market their wares? Did they advertise? Did they have obnoxious salesmen hawking their products in the marketplace? Was is a black market operation? None of these questions really matter at all. What does matter is that if the LORD was against idolatry in 750 B.C.E., then there is a good chance that opinion hasn't changed!

The question is, what idols are being made from harlot wages today?