Opposite Truths

As odd as it sounds, there are times when truth speaks in opposite directions. It makes one statement that affirms a reality, and then it makes another statement that contradicts that reality, affirming a different one. For example, Proverbs 26 contains two verses that teach opposing truths:

Do not answer a fool according to his folly,

Lest you also be like him.

Answer a fool according to his folly,

Lest he be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4, 5)

First, Proverbs teaches you not to answer a fool. Then, it teaches you to answer a fool. Which one is it?? How can both of these verses be truth?

Rather than untangling that knot, I simply wanted to use these verses to demonstrate my point. At times, truth speaks in opposite directions. With that principle in mind, I want to share with you a proverb of my own:

Your spiritual health can not depend on your environment.

Your spiritual health depends on your environment.

Though opposing each other, both of these statements are true.

First, your spiritual health can not depend on your environment. If your geographical location determines the level of your fervency and commitment to God, then your fervency and commitment to God may be an illusion. If lack of access to a church building or social gathering causes detriment to your devotional life, then your devotional life doesn’t have the appropriate level of fortitude. Unhealthy dependence upon the right environment leaves you spiritually immature and limits the degree to which God can use you. If you need the right place, the right people, and the right situation in order to seek God, then God can’t send you to a spiritually bleak environment as an emissary of the kingdom. He knows it will endanger you too much. He knows it will change you rather than you being a catalyst of change.

At the same time, you can not escape the reality that your spiritual health depends on your environment. The seed of God’s word within your heart needs the atmosphere of His presence in order to produce maximum fruitfulness. What do you do, then, if your circumstances do not offer access to a presence-rich environment? You learn to create one around you. You learn to surround yourself with things that release life into the soil of your heart. With technology at your fingertips, that is easier than ever to accomplish; however, I’m not just talking about using someone else’s ministry as a crutch. You must learn to find His presence personally through prayer, worship, and scripture. As you create that personal environment of presence, you’ll find your walk with God maturing and doors of destiny opening.

Do not depend exclusively on your geographical, circumstantial environment to be spiritually healthy. Instead, cultivate a personal atmosphere of presence where your heart can thrive in God.