Soulfood

“Our world has replaced the word soul with the word self, and they are not the same thing. The more we we focus on ourselves, the more we lose our souls.”

Depression may be more common among late moderns because “we have replaced church, faith, and community with a tiny little unit [the self] that cannot bear the weight of meaning.”

“Self is a standalone, do-it-yourself unit, while the soul reminds us we were not made for ourselves. The soul always exists before God.”

“In our day, we talk a lot about self-talk. Books get written about the importance of self-talk. Apparently, that’s a really important part of the human condition. Everybody here talks to themselves. In the Bible, people talk to their souls. The difference between talking to yourself and talking to your soul is that the soul always exists in the presence of God.”

Overall this was a good read, very challenging and encouraging. There are a few “uhhh…hmm” moments in it but generally it is solid. The central theme is that the soul must be cared for or it will die. I especially appreciated how Ortberg drew out the uses of the word “soul” (Hebrew nephesh, Greek psyche) in Scripture and his insight into James’ warning against being dipsyche (usually translated “double-minded” in modern English, but Ortberg makes a good case that “split-souled“ gives a better sense of the warning).

If we don’t tend our souls – setting them on God, directing them to Jesus, training them to listen to the Spirit – they will die. How are you tending your soul? It is a terrible thing to spend our lives seeking to gain the world if we lose our souls. Keep watch over your soul! Help me to do the same. It is our souls that will first pass into glory and be with Christ, as long as he tarries. Keep watch!