The truth is that
human nature can’t be
changed in a moment,
but only gradually
as we daily learn
the truth of healthy,
heavenly living from
the Lord, and then,
with the Lord’s help
and power, put that
truth to work in both
the outer and inner
parts of our lives – in
our actions, and in
our habits of thinking
and intending.
form an intricate lattice or network in our
lives – such that any one of them cannot
be moved or shifted without all of them
being shifted at the same time.
An illustration of this is a hanging
mobile. If you snip one of the strings
and let one of the suspended objects fall
to the ground (symbolizing the sudden
and complete removal of just one hurtful
element of our character) what happens?
The rest of the mobile collapses.
The teaching of the New Church
continues that if the removal of any of
these pieces of who we are were to happen
suddenly, our lives would be thrown into
chaos, and we would be sapped of spiritual
life, energy and vitality. We are told that
this is what is meant when it says, “I will
not drive them out from before you in one
year lest the land become desolate.”
An example of this line of reasoning
might be a teenage boy who is being
careful in how he interacts socially
with peers, and he’s doing this (perhaps
unbeknownst to himself) mainly for the
sake of how it will boost his ego or reputation, how it will reflect back to him
from others around him, or how it will help him get what he wants out of
relationships. Mixed in with his developing social skills are streaks of selfregard that he doesn’t yet see. In fact, this is such a significant part of his life
that if the Lord were to yank it completely out of him all at once, a significant
part of who he is and what he accomplishes in life would be torn out of him
as well.
So what does the Lord do? Well, think of what any wise and loving parents
do with a teenager like this who they are hoping to influence for the better.
Instead of trying to take this form of selfishness completely away from this boy
in an instant, the Lord works with him – within his very weakness. He helps
him gradually to see and acknowledge the more self-focused parts of what he’s
doing, to resist the hurtful parts of that thing in his life, and then injecting new
and healthier motivations into the social skills that are developing within him.
“Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you become fruitful
and inherit the land.”
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