Heart exam and the Matrix

You should go to blockbuster and rent the Matrix. It's rated R and I don't like to watch rated R stuff, but in this case, I think you should watch it. It gets at the heart of what's been rollin around in my brain a lot lately. The idea that what we see is not real. That all this that our senses tell us is there, is actually a facade... the real, the lasting, isn't to be beheld with our eyes, our ears, our hands. They are only vessels through which we interpret, through which we aquire the information into the part of us that is real.

This sounds really out there.

I'm reading a book called "War of Words" by Paul David Tripp. It's one of the books Benjamin and I have to read as part of our pre-marital counseling. It's good. I recommend it. It's all about how communication struggles are not fixed by learning skills or techniques of how to communicate. That's why oftentimes conflict resolution techniques based on counting to 10 or going through certain steps fail. The struggles we see with our eyes are struggles of the heart.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Our words, our actions and reactions are an indicator. A litmus test of what is real. They are not the source of the struggle. Harsh words or an abrasive attitude is not the main point. They point to the main point. An untamed tongue resulting from a corrupt heart. Do not be fooled by this illusion as I have so often been in the past.

A litmus test only tells you how acidic or basic a solution is... it is an indicator of something much more. If all you were to look at was the litmus paper, and you never altered the solution, your work would be futile. Our words are the litmus paper of our hearts. Luke 6:43-46

Like the scene where Neo is in his office taking orders from the man on his cell phone, we are here, and cannot see what to do or where to go next. The scene where he goes to see the Oracle is good too.. where she says, "it's ok" then he breaks a plate and says he's sorry, and she says, "i said it's ok" and he is confused about how she knew what would happen. Then she says, "what will really cook your noodle later on is whether or not you would have broken the plate had I not said it's ok." Very interesting. Very good movie.

Also interesting: It is God who works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose.

Here's a lil test at the end of the chapter i just read:
1. Do you tend to blame your negative communication on situations?
traffic
schedule
finances
vehicle
extended family
2. Do you tend to blame others?
roomates
bf, gf
mom, dad
co-workers
3. Do you tend to blame God? "If only I had..."
more money
a more loving, supportive extended family
better roomates
a more reasonable boss
more time

"Examine your heart with hope, remembering that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 john 1:9)"

This is a tough issue for me to deal with, but I'd rather know about the matrix than be ignorant of it. Praise be to God who removed the scales from my eyes.