The Illusion of Self-Control – Part 1

There’s been a great deal of teaching about how it is up to us to “make an effort” and to “just do something”. It all sounds very encouraging and “challenging” – but it is a misnomer. I remember Kenneth E. Hagin saying that we should not wait for a “special feeling”; if it is written in the Word, then we should act upon it. Perhaps this is simply a lack of confidence or the wrong belief that in order for a person to do something – X, Y or Z must first take place?

But I have found in my own life that there have been innumerable times when I’ve wanted to do something, or tried to do something that was expected of me – but was completely unable to do it. It could be the simplest thing like go to the local store or put the washing machine on.

But then there were times when all of a sudden, I would just get up and do something. It could have been a demanding task or just something simple. The conclusion that I’ve come to is that our conscious mind, or willpower, does not control us. If anything, the conscious mind, or willpower, is simply the window into what we are experiencing at that moment. It is through the subconscious mind, via the senses, that our subconscious mind is conditioned or programmed. It is the subconscious mind which controls our actions. That is why it says in scripture to “Guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.” Proverbs 4:23 NLT.

I realise that I have been conditioned to believe what I do because of my personal experiences. This has come at a great cost to me as it has brought a lot of pain, struggle, fear, disappointment and embarrassment. Most people experience a thought in their mind followed by unction to do something. They might struggle mentally with that unction for a moment, but it then wins over and they just simply experience themselves doing something. They then tell the story that it was them that performed the action. They had the conscious awareness of what they did, but I would say that it was their subconscious mind which caused them to act – either for good (divine nature) or for bad (flesh nature). I would say that their mental coercions on a conscious level, did very little to influence the outcome of what they did.

When I try to tell people what I believe – they think I’m barking mad. Thankfully, people like Norman Grubb and Major Ian Thomas, and a growing number of Christians, agree with me.

The idea that we control our lives gives us a sense of empowerment. It is a frightening thing indeed to come to the conclusion that you are not in complete conscious control of your actions. But I think for Christians and non-Christians alike, the fear is likely to be rooted more in a lifelong distrust in God, more than anything else. After all, we are told that God is good, but He allows, or some would say that He is powerless to prevent, all sorts of atrocities that gone on around the world.

I don’t have all the answers to these questions, but what I do know, is that the best means of protection and assurance of a good quality of life, is to be found in trusting God in the finished work of the cross – with the aim of surrendering all control to Him. Even mature Christians, I believe, are fearful of surrendering all control to Him, unconvinced that He truly loves us and has no favourites. It is this clinging-on to personal power which is to their detriment.

I wonder what the law courts would do if they began to adopt this way of thinking? “My subconscious mind made me do it!” This is a refreshing change from the cliché, “The devil made me do it!” It is not an excuse to avoid being accused of being lazy, if we see things in this light. No, it is no longer a notion of being right or wrong, good or bad, passive or active or whatever – it has much more to do with being in right-standing with God through faith in Christ, which comprises beliefs such as:

• The Father who dwells in me does the works (John 14:10).
• My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in me, whom I have from God, and I am not my own (1 Cor. 6:19).
• I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

The notion of self-empowerment gives religious leaders the power of control over a person: they will say that if a person fails to be blessed or bad things happen – it is because they failed to take action. Christian “motivational” speakers will say that if a Christian fails to succeed in life then it is because they failed to apply their seven “keys” or six “steps”. I would rather believe that it was because they were not fully persuaded of the message of the Gospel, the Father’s love for them, and therefore, failed to enter into that rest which allows God to take control.