Keeping before expanding

In the world that full of technological explosion, information is massive and everywhere accessed. There are two common reactions as direct consequences. First, those who are passionate to learn more and see this as an opportunity to master lot of things. Second, those who are of it fed up out of it and try to escape themselves from learning. The first one can be stressed for once they learn and learn, they know that there are limit on their learning. They cannot master everything. The new information multiplied beyond the capacity of brain could ever digests. 

The second people are the one who realized at the end, they need start to learn for without learning, they will be dying and struggling badly eventually in the world, because everyone are using knowledge as a tools for power and to accumulate material gain. Expanding knowledge is necessary. The competition of mastering knowledge cannot be stopped. Therefore people who graduate with only first degree has a lower paid-income compare to those who owned their second degree, which is logically understandable nowadays.  The tendency of expanding brain always become a priority and emphasis. Parents always remind their children to be proficient in their school life, but how about their faith life?

I argue that we urgently need to revive once again the spirit of  keeping before expanding. Keeping our soul growing before expanding our brain with innumerable knowledge is vital for these three major reason. First, it is mentally healthy. Many people do not aware that actually that spirituality affects our mental life. If we ignore this aspect of keeping our soul in a good state, we fill found out we will go stress easily. This core problem of that stress is often spiritual. The tools of psychology little will helps.

Second, it is how it should be. Human being is not just a mere material, or ''bios.'' There is spiritual life as C.S lewis point out as ''zoe''. By being bios people become man. By moving to zoe, people become true man as Lewis wrote. Donald De Marco and Benjamin Wiker in his book give a comment on two lives that Lewis classified in his book Mere Christianity. They wrote,

 ''Bios is always tending to run down and decay. ... Zoe, he goes on to explain, is an enriching spiritual life which is in God from all eternity.''

Hence, To expand brain [realm of bios] by ignoring the growth of the soul [realm of zoe], it will lead one to dire consequences of emptiness and purposelessness. 

Third, we need to know that only by keeping soul before expanding brain, we will be guarded from  any path that lead to death, that is in contradictory with Christian faith in essence. Alister McGrath wrote a book called The Passionate Intellect bring an excellent reminder for the mind expander. Although Christianity in history was been very passionate with theology, the theology here is not merely cerebral. Alister even goes on to say that if the theology cannot address the problem of life then our theology is not deep enough. Moreover, what I found interesting is when he emphasis on the personal devotional aspect. Alister brought  the dimension of Eucharist to show how theology does not just what we think without move us, but what can affect of thankfulness and project hope of Christ return. Augustine also famously show how knowledge need to first and foremost come from the steps of fear and holiness before knowledge [Look more in Craig Bartholomew, Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics]. 

More to say about this topic, I remember Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. delivers the Opening Convocation message for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary discuss about the very idea of keeping before expanding. He quotes the Bible and Lewis to show how the devil prowling around like a roaring lion seeking people to devour. ''There is a new fronts in the battle for our soul every single day'', he said. So long we are conscious our mind is always active and going somewhere, and run after things and if we are not keeping and being watchful, then we will lost whilst our mind expanding away from God. 

In conclusion, keeping our soul bring meaning and significance of our action of expanding the theological knowledge. Before our knowledge can bless others, it should bless the one who accumulate it in the first place.