For mild entertainment, I find myself reading religious blogs just to see what Christians argue about now-a-days. So often I see the rebuttals of “What Would Jesus Do?”, yet it seems the person uttering these words seems very lax in the area of what Jesus would do. If you think about Christ himself, and you think about Christians…it’s amazing how far apart we’ve grown.

I should preface this by saying that I believe in Christ and his teachings and these examples are used as generalities. Not every Christian follows this pattern. That being said, let’s look at some of the contrasts: Christ was open to people of other religions (Samaritans) with the intention of helping them and not converting them. We look down on people of other religions. Christ befriended and refused to condemn the sexually immoral (Marry Magdelene). We condemn the sexually immoral, such as homosexuals, and refuse to let them in the church. Christ was against the church, he constantly ragged it’s leaders. We think attending church is our way to heaven and it’s the only Christianity most people get all week. Christ taught that we should believe that He is the Son of God and that through His life is the only way to God. We seem to have taken our eyes off of God altogether and only see Christ. Wouldn’t this defeat his purpose for even coming to earth?

Ok, ok. I’ve got all that off my chest. Now I can start thinking more rationally. The aforementioned examples are simply to show that we think that by believing Christ existed, then that automatically means we are good to go. If this is the case, the book of James is completely wasted words. We are supposed to follow Christ’s life and his example. However, most of us seem to be looking at Christ the person as opposed to His life. So what is the Christian lifestyle based on then? Well, part of it is based on the teachings of Paul. Funny how of all the people in the New Testament to follow, it is not Christ but he only person who never physically met Christ.

The other part of the Bible that he Christian lifestyle seems to be based upon is the Old Testament, namely the Ten Commandments. Despite the fact that Christ was sent to be a new law and to do away with the old law (i.e. the Ten Commandments), we still follow them more than Christ and get angry when they can’t be posted in our schools. With those two parts making up the Christian lifestyle, when you compare our lives to Christ, you see a stark contrast. However, when you compare the Christian lifestyle to that of a Pharisee, you see amazing similarities. We condemn people who we deem not “fit” for the Church, we try to separate ourselves from the rest of the world by our clean wholesome appearances, and we condemn people of other faiths. When people look at the Christian faith, it is not Christ they see. I see Christ more in non-Christians than in people of the Christian faith.

There’s not a day that goes by where my mind does not run away with itself. I’m one of those people that likes to question and analyze everything. Every thought, every emotion, every feeling, every single atom attributed to human life. I guess this can be good because it helps me understand myself as well as others, which makes me less likely to piss people off. But the downsides attributed to analyzing everything are just as frequent as the good sides. The main one that has gotten my attention the past few weeks is thinking things through to the point that I talk myself out of them. I make convincing arguments about anything and full myself into believing it, because I’ve backed my arguments up with examples and “proof”.

What I am trying to focus on here is a discipline of the mind that is probably the most fundamental in living a happy and healthy life - willpower. What I mean by willpower is forcing yourself to go beyond where your body or thoughts don’t want to go. It’s a discipline that isn’t enforced by anyone but yourself. Because of that, it makes it so easy to slack off on it. You don’t have to answer to anyone if you don’t stick to it and it doesn’t really affect anyone else. So what’s the point in even having willpower?

The purpose of willpower goes deeper than forcing yourself to study so you can ace a test or getting up early to jog so you can make yourself healthier. The purpose of willpower is to have complete control over your body. It’s to be able to not eat despite your body feeling hungry, it’s being able to run the extra mile despite an unbearable feeling of exhaustion, it’s forcing yourself to read that last chapter in your Chemistry homework despite the urge to go out with your friends, it’s packing your lunch to save money instead of the desire to go out and eat.

In all truth, this is one of the hardest disciplines I’ve ever tried to face. I suck at it. For example, I know I need to start being healthier, so I’ve been trying to get up and exercise every morning. First of all, it took me about a month before I even went for the first time. I kept coming up with excuses such as “it’s too cold”, “I don’t know the best way to get there”, “my good gym shorts are in the wash”, or my favorite “my rest is more important”. After finally sitting down and developing my day around plans to exercise, I mustered up enough motivation to go. It felt great afterwards. I felt more accomplished, I felt healthier, etc. Despite these great feelings, this routine lasted for about a week. All it took was one cold rainy day. I stayed home that day and then, if I went to the gym at all, it was about twice a week. I had talked myself into believing that was ok, even though my initial plan was to go every day.

It was then that I realized that my mind had to compromise to my laziness. More than getting up to exercise every morning for the sake of healthiness is getting up every morning for the sake of discipline. To push myself. What’s the need in pushing yourself? Because in our human bodies, there is so much untapped potential. Those that figure out ways to discipline themselves and tap into this potential are the ones that make history. They are the ones that make their mark on the world. Look at Olympic athletes and imagine their discipline. Look at Bushido: the code of the Samurai. Look at Buddhist monks who can fast for days and accomplish an overwhelming sense of peace in the midst of a chaotic world.

The mind is capable of amazing things. It pains me to know that I ignore it. Our mind is what separates us from other animals, yet I pay more attention to my animal side than my mental side. My body seems to have control over my thoughts. If I even feel the slightest bit hungry, I grab some food. If I have money, I spend it. If I’m tired I go to sleep. I don’t fight any of this. I don’t push my body to see what it’s capable of. I can’t just live by instinct. I have to push myself further than that. All animals have instinct, and they are all controlled by it. Humans have the power to break this control. We have the choice to discipline ourselves. If we don’t take advantage of this, then we are no different from any other animal on earth. To be beyond the animal, that’s my desire.

One thing that bothers me about society is extreme left and right wings. Left and right wings themselves don’t bother me, but the extremes of both ends is something unnecessary. The further you go to the left or to the right, the more your mind becomes closed to the opposite side. This is what sparks hatred between religion and political parties. I am not trying to say that we should do away with left and right wings, that would be an absurd task to try and initiate. Left and right wings are necessary because it is impossible for everyone to think the same way. However, the extremist on either side bypass logic and reason and base their decisions solely on contrasting with the other side. It is possible to believe in liberalism but choose to be conservative on certain subjects. It is possible to go to believe in Jesus Christ and also listen to Marilyn Manson.

The fault is that we have associated specific beliefs with a lifestyle. We’ve created a “what’s right and what’s wrong” box that we apply to everything in our lives depending on which side we are on. If it is outside the boundaries of the box, then it must be wrong. This is the definition of a closed mind. Extremists will often accuse the opposite side of being closed minded when they are being equally as closed minded on their own side. This is where both sides come full circle. All though their beliefs are complete opposite, their mindsets are exactly the same.

What has sparked this topic is that I saw a Christian and an Atheist in a debate (it’s rare to see these two mindsets together without being in a debate). The Christian was trying to convince the Atheist why there is a God. The Atheist was trying to convince the Christian as to why there wasn’t one. Both of them were trying to prove while the other was wrong, and neither had convincing rebuttals. They couldn’t just accept that one of them believed in God while the other did not. Both of them accused each other of “all being the same” as others of their corresponding mindsets. It was, as it always is, an endless loop. Both were too closed minded and could not accept the other was saying.

So how do I think it should have played out? Well, instead of trying to convince people to believe what I believe, I like hearing and trying to understand what other people believe. So do I even have a set of beliefs then? Yes, and it is a very strong set of beliefs, which is why I am not afraid to ask questions. I know that there isn’t a question I can ask that will prove my beliefs wrong, because I am convinced whole heartedly that my beliefs are true. The reason my beliefs are so strong is because I do not only accept answers based on whether they fall on the side of the spectrum I am on. I will accept answers from either side. Whether the answers are wrong or right is not the point. The point is the knowledge gained from seeking out their possibilities. If you are a left wing extremist and completely denounce everything from the right wing, then you are completely ignorant to any knowledge that can come from their side. It’s the same application for the converse of that example. It’s great for left and right wings to exist, but it should be understood that ultimate knowledge comes from both sides, and those that want to make the best decisions cannot limit it to the left or the right.

It sounds like I am trying to say that he middle is the best place. There are those that would rather die than to “ride the fence”. I am not trying to promote indecisiveness. I am trying to promote decisiveness that is unbiased.  A better mindset would be not to view it as staying in the middle, but to completely erase the idea of a left an a right side. Knowledge can come from anywhere or anything, so everything is included. In that respect, when it comes to where true knowledge is found, we are all in the same pool. There are no sides, just one big pool where true knowledge flows. Picking sides means that you say “I will only accept views from this side, all views from the other side are wrong”. By doing this, you completely dam up the flow of knowledge from that side. You aren’t gaining full knowledge because you are only accepting knowledge from one tributary.