The Voice Of Life Versus The Voice Of Destruction

[Roughsoul1991]

I not only believe in the Bible, but I also believe that creation will testify to the creator. I believe we are created of both mind, body, and soul. We are created in the image of God and therefore have the capability to know right from wrong. This is just as much an internal battle as it is spiritual. The metaphysical realm is evident in our reality, just like mind over matter or the universal laws that hold our universe together. The Spiritual battle between good and evil is evident around us just as much in us.

To show this Spiritual battle and how it affects us in the reality of everyday life, I will present multiple premises to reveal the truth in the statement above.

Premise One:

Psychologist Robert Firestone was initially the first to document the destructive inner voice in suicide.

This voice drives suicidal tendencies, deceptively convincing people that it is better to end their lives than to find an alternate solution to their suffering.

Called a suicidal trance, as these individuals described a strong presence of the severe self-attacking thought process referred to as the "voice."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/compassion-matters/201004/the-inner-voice-drives-suicide

John 8:44 ESV
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Acts 5:3 ESV
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

As shown in both the scriptures and psychology, we can and will experience the voice of destruction. We are, by nature, sinners, and this gives Satan a foothold to feed us his lies. These lies not only wish to bring us physical and mental harm but ultimately spiritual death.

To many in the past, they believed that sickness in the mind was due to the sickness of the soul. We understand that today it can include all 3 areas of the mind, body, and soul.

“The talk which the soul has with itself.” -Socrates

Socrates once defined thinking as a conversation between mind and Spirit. Two voices are in a battle to win over the battlefield of your mind, heart, and soul. Whichever one you listen to the most will only become louder.

In Acts 5:3, we see how Satan influenced Ananias. Ananias allowed Satan to fill his heart, and this influenced him to lie to the Holy Spirit. This ultimately led to His death.

The author is unknown, but this quote speaks to the truth of which voice you give weight to, determines who you become, or even can alter how you see reality.

You are a product of your thoughts. Your thoughts are products of your desires. Your desires are products of your soul.- Author Unknown

The voice of destruction wants to lead everyone to death, both physical and spiritual, but we are not only affected by this voice. There is another voice.

 

[Roughsoul1991]

Premise Two:

The Voice of Reason

In a series of groundbreaking experiments, Psychologist Ethan Kross has found that how people conduct their inner monologues has an enormous effect on their success in life. Talk to yourself with the pronoun I, for instance, and you’re likely to fluster and perform poorly in stressful circumstances. Address yourself by your name and your chances of facing a host of tasks, from speechmaking to self-advocacy, suddenly soar.

Gaining psychological distance enables self-control, allowing us to think clearly, perform competently. The language switch also minimizes rumination, a handmaiden of anxiety and depression, after we complete a task. Released from negative thoughts, we gain perspective, focus deeply, plan for the future.

Affirmative Speech

Psychologists Clayton Critcher and David Dunning of the University of California at Berkeley have found that such feel-good ego boosts can undercut criticism, providing a cushion against blasts of harshness from the world. They can help us stand up to outside threats and persevere in negotiations, in difficult jobs, and in the face of health problems. They don’t work by seducing us into feeling great. It’s not that we swallow them whole. They widen our perspective on our self, help mitigate bad blows, and alleviate defensiveness.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201505/the-voice-reason

Psychologically we understand the power behind a confident or destructive internal monologue. In Mark 11:23, we see the power of faith in saying and believing in what we speak.

Mark 11:23 ESV
Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

Remember, the two voices are competing over the influence within your mind. God tells us John 10:1-11 that His children will hear and listen because they know His voice. He is painting a picture of a close relationship. All other voices should feel strange and even dangerous that we run away from such a voice.

John 10:1-11 New International Version
10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

The thief being the prince of lies. His mission being to steal, kill, and destroy mankind. The voice of destruction is in direct contrast to the voice of reason or the voice of life. Jesus is the good shepherd who came to give life and give it abundantly.

In Matthew 16:23, we see a Biblical example of how Peter allowed Satan to influence his thinking.

Matthew 16:23 English Standard Version
23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Jesus stops Peter in his explanation on why Jesus shall not be put to death. Jesus told Peter that he was not setting his mind on the things of God but instead on the things of man.

We have two choices. To put our mind on God or the world. God did not leave us to battle this alone.

John 14:26 English Standard Version
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Notice that the Holy Spirit is our helper, sent by God, as a teacher and to bring our minds to remember the Words of God.

We can listen or choose to suppress the Spirit. The Spirit works in all of mankind as God says he draws all to Himself (John 12:32). All are without excuse (Romans 1:20). All will be held accountable to the promptings of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:10). Humanity can suppress the voice of life and submit to the voice of destruction (Romans 1:18). Or submit to the voice of life while rejecting the voice of destruction (John 14:6).

 

[Roughsoul1991]

Premise Three:

The Moral Life of Babies

Yale Psychology Professor Paul Bloom finds the origins of morality in infants.
By Gareth Cook on November 12, 2013
Morality is not just something that people learn, argues Yale psychologist Paul Bloom: It is something we are all born with.

Answering a critics question:

What is the strongest proof that morality has a genetic component, that two people may have differing moral views because of their genes?
I think the strongest evidence that morality has a genetic component has little to do with human differences, and everything to do with human universals. Every normal person has a sense of right and wrong, some appreciation of justice and fairness, some gut feelings that are triggered by kindness and cruelty. I like how Thomas Jefferson put it—the moral sense is “as much a part of man as his leg or arm.”

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-moral-life-of-babies/

To expound on the truth of two inner voices. One leads to life while the other leads to death. Psychologist Paul Bloom speaks on the reality of morality. A morality that the Bible has spoken on thousands of years before psychology was even a field of science.

For example,

Isaiah 30:21 New International Version
21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Romans 2:15 New International Version
15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.

Morality, moral law, or our inner conscience operates through an inner voice. Guiding us in the right direction.

This is what Psychologist Paul Bloom saw in the early stages of child development. These children understood the basics of morality.
Bloom also speaks on the universal language of morality. It is not dictated by genetics but simply that all of humanity shares in its nature.

Bloom tells us that,
“Every normal person has a sense of right and wrong, some appreciation of justice and fairness, some gut feelings that are triggered by kindness and cruelty.”

We know what is good because we can measure it against evil. If we are honest, we see this inner battle between doing what is good and evil.

This is self-evident as even without the Bible or psychology, we would still be influenced by morality.

Just like Satan in the garden, he is tempting in one ear while the Spirit of God reminds us of the right way to go.

It looks like this,
Genesis 3:1-3 New International Version
3 Now the serpent (Satan) was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

(In verse 3, we see Satan as a deceiver, tempter, and liar. He deceived Eve as the serpent and then proceeded to speak a lie to tempt her. Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” )

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

In verse 3, we see the action of how the Holy Spirit works within, reminding Eve that God said, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.” Giving Eve a choice between which voice she should listen to.

We speak of morality, often as law or the moral law, because it is universal and affects all people. It doesn’t change and has very real effects within time, space and matter, just like the laws of physics, gravity, radiation, mathematics, etc. Every law points to a fine-tuned and intelligent design. All are dictating and guiding the universe in a specific direction within very fine-tuned measurements where if they where off even to the smallest of degrees, we would cease to exist.

For example,
Calculations by Brandon Carter show that if gravity had been stronger or weaker by 1 part in 10 to the 40th power, then life-sustaining stars like the sun could not exist. This would most likely make life impossible. (Davies, 1984, p. 242.)

Morality is carved within our soul, and therefore we have a cause and effect when we break the laws. The cause is the breaking of the law. The effect is the consequences of breaking the law. The law being the written ordinances of God speaking to us. The infringement of the law is the way to destruction. The voice of life versus the voice of destruction.

Conclusion:

Two voices speak into our minds. Both operate out of the spiritual realm. Our minds, bodies, and souls are greatly affected by this influence, positively or negatively. I presented here using both the truth of God’s Word and the observations of mankind. The more you listen to one, the harder it becomes to hear the other.

One will build you up while the other will tear you down. If you find yourself trying to tear yourself down, then stop and realize that is the voice of the liar.

The voice of life wants to affirm you and celebrate you much like the prodigal son returning to the Father. Choose today never again to let the voice of destruction lead you astray! Amen.