And when he had called the people onto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For who whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8: 34-37
We live in a day when the soul and the spiritual order are in eclipse. Indeed we hardly use this word soul anymore. To use such words is to risk being called introvertive or even morbid, and most of us would hate to be thought of as mystical or religious. It is interesting to note that man began with an intense awareness of his soul and the spiritual order. In the earliest extant writings, God and the soul and immortality are subjects of common concern and vital interest. Only later did Man become aware of his body and the outer world of things and space. Today man, especially western man, is almost completely dominated by the physical and material world. Within the next hour we will send another three men to take a closer look at the moon. We used to say that the moon was made of green cheese. What we have seen so far has been described in even less colourful terms, yet we continue our costly explorations because we are obsessed with anything that is big and outside us. Modern man is now much more familiar with outer space than with inner space; he is much more concerned about solar systems than his spiritual soul. Another proof of this is that the medical doctor and scientist have taken the places of priest and minister. I am amazed at how much people know about their bodies and how concerned they are to keep them functioning as long as possible. Such excessive concern betrays the feeling that this world is all there is and we must make the most of the body because this may be all the life we are going to have. Nor are we really touching the centre of life when we reveal our knowledge of psychology. In the play, “ on a clear day you can see for ever “.we hear a plaintive recognition of this. The lead girl comes out with this statement which is almost a confession, “I feel so modern, all adjustment and no character. “ Ibsen described Peer Gynt as one who was like an onion, all layers and no core. T.S. Elliott describing 20th century man said: “We are the hollow man, heads stuffed with straw. “DH Lawrence describes modern man as being like empty picture frames into which every passing fad stuck its head for a moment and then passed on to make room for the next one.
In this kind of situation it is tragic that the church has also lost its traditional concern, that of saving souls. Today’s church is very extrovertive and ministers have told me frankly they regard the churches main role in the world is to be that of social action. I too am passionately concerned about the equality of opportunity and civil rights and good education and food for hungry children. The outer world is real, social conditions do warp young personalities, but I’m also concerned that modern man is suffering a desperate sense of loneliness and emptiness and futility; that his life is becoming worthless and that he is losing his soul. Jesus asks us this haunting question. What will it really profit a man if he gains the whole world of things and social adjustments and moons and planets, but loses his soul.
But what is the sole? We can give no adequate definition for there is nothing with which to compare it. We might say it is the ultimate core of life. It is that which gives meaning to existence and without it life has no significance. It is that which makes a man an individual person and a unique character.
What the playwrights are trying to tell us is that modern men are giving the appearance of being turned out by the same machines. We dress according to prescribed fashions, we speak the slang of the day, we do what we think is expected of us. We have sacrificed our personal individual characteristics for a mass conformity, and this is one of the ways in which we lose our souls. When God creates a soul he makes him unique; he gives him a contribution to pass on to the world that only he could contribute and when a soul fails to keep it self; that person and the world are both losers. This is one thing we ought to see clearly when we praise adjustment and insist on conformity. When a person does not achieve his own uniqueness, everyone loses. The hippies talk about doing their own thing, we might not like all they do, but the principle of every person finding his own soul and making his unique contribution is vital to successful living and is important to the world. This uniqueness can express itself in all the ordinary ways of life.
Two pianists may sit in front of the same musical composition; they are both well trained and accomplished. One plays with technical perfection; we admire the brilliance, but it leaves us cold. The other plays the same piece of music with equal competence, but now we feel there is warmth in the music and real emotions are being communicated. To the technical brilliance there is a spiritual interpretation. The first performer is a wonderful co-ordination of brain and nerves and fingers; the other has a soul and it makes all the difference to the music. So men and women of soul make all the difference to the world, however, common maybe the areas in which they live and move and express their being.
In the second chapter of Genesis there is a verse of profound insight. It reads like this-
“ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man to see what he would call them and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. “ Genesis 2:19
In other words, God presents the world to Adam and said: now you name everything according to the meaning it has for you. In a profound way God says the same to every soul born into the world. You name everything according to the meaning it has for you. You be your own self; you do your own thing, but only in this way can you justify your life and enrich your world. Shakespeare caught the same idea when he said:
“To thine own self be true and it must follow as the night the day Thou can’st not then be false to any man”
So far we have tried to give content to the meaning of the word soul. Let us now turn our attention to how we can keep it and cause it to grow in strength and maturity. In the first place, we must realise that this is a very difficult age in which to grow a soul. Many people have to earn their living doing repetitious work that bores them to death. Others have to watch machines that shatter their nerves. We are being surrounded by computers that are more efficient than our brains and we live under complicated political systems most of us cannot understand or control. Gone are the simple days when a person knew his community and found creative joy in his craft.This is a soul destroying time in which to live and all of us are threatened with disintegration, weariness and despair.
In the second place, and because of the situation we must make time for appropriating some of the spiritual wealth available to us. Fortunately, the machine has brought much good. It means printing presses and records and magnetic tapes and other media things by which we can profit from the spiritual wealth of the centuries.
We must get back to the Bible, not out of deference to an old book, but as a source of spiritual insight and power, and we must meditate regularly in other great books that feed the soul. John Milton said: “ A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit treasured and embalmed to a life beyond life. “
If we are to keep our souls in a world where everything seems bent on destroying them we will have to re—discover reading as a spiritual discipline to feed the inner man.
Then we will have to cultivate spiritual company. This was the original nature and function of the church. It was a fellowship of prayer and worship and reading of the Scriptures. Today many of our churches are more like country clubs offering popular entertainment. A church is a place where serious spiritual training should be offered and where the soul can find opportunities of nurture and growth.
In the third place, just as the tree cannot realise its full potential apart from the soil from which gets its nourishment, so the soul cannot live and grow apart from the ground of its being, whom we call God. Christianity has been a tremendous force in helping people keep their souls in all kinds of alien environments. The main reason is being celebrated right now. Last Thursday was Ascension day and next Sunday is the day of Pentecost. These two feasts of the church are interelated. We believe the ascended Christ returned as the holy spirit to give men power to become the living souls God wanted them to become. And we also believe Man cannot find his true self unless he is willing to confess his dependence upon his creator and turn to God for his spiritual nourishment and life. This is what Jesus meant when he said:
“Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels will save it. “
