What does brain chaos and love have to do with each other? Why does taming one increase the other? It’s all based on truth– absolute truth not subjective truth. One breeds fear, anxiety, confusion, and lack of purpose. The other promotes peace, stability, confidence, clear thinking, and a real purpose. Without a stable anchor to hold onto, there is no space for peace and therefore directly effects love. What do I mean by this?
Subjective vs. Absolute Truth
Ask yourself or someone else what is truth?
In today’s popular world view you may be hearing that there is no absolute truth– everything is subjective and defined by the cultural norms around a person. “Your truth may not be my truth so live your truth and don’t tell me my truth”. Subjective truth is malleable and changes depending on society, times, and situations of a people group.
Absolute truth on the other hand is the view that there are certain basic truths that are inherant in all humanity and the universe and are not malleable but are a reflection of what reality is.
There are universal laws that pertain to the universe and everything in it. An order and balance that is always in motion following prescribed pathways. You see this in science, music, art, philosophy, and logic: thermodynamics, circle of 5ths, rule of thirds, moral outrage, justice….
Why Does Subjective Truth Lead to Brain Chaos?
If there is no such thing as absolute truth and everything is as each person sees fit to believe, then we can be swayed to any which way the mind or inclination leads us and at any moment anytime someone sounds convincing. This naturally leads to constant questioning of reality and the position you stand in. If you are constantly in a state of flux and doubt, everything you think or believe has no security or stability.
"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming." Ephesians 4:14 NIV
What kind of encouragement is it to be constantly unsure of every stance you take? It’s no wonder that depression rates have continued to climb and are the highest rates since 2015 with young adults being the highest.(1)
As a practical example: we don’t appreciate a client at work who can’t make up their mind and is constantly changing or adjusting what they want. Or a boss who can’t seem to tell you what the goal of a project is and everyone on the project team has a different opinion on how to go about it. If the boss continues to give equal weight and constant capitulation to all ideas at all times, then we all know that nothing is going to get done and confusion rules. Ultimately, your job satisfaction is not what it could be and is led by frustration each and every day. Job turnover is rampant.
Why Does Brain Chaos Lead to Decreased Love?
Unity and love are both based on objective truth. Sifting sand and every changing thought however leads to a lack of strength and doubt. If everyone is right in their own mind then no one is right. One “truth” cannot then hold sway over another and therefore is not foundational enough to move us in concern for someone else on a path of destruction.
Many who are proponents of subjective truth will claim that to try to convince others of one way of truth that is objective and concrete is to be arrogant. Is a parent arrogant for correcting their child who is clearly but unknowingly on a path that most often leads to unneccessary destruction, harm, grief, and permanent damage? It’s actually out of love, concern, and maturity that we reach others from a concrete objective truth.
No one who truely cares for another will just shrug and let someone walk over a cliff ledge of whatever trendy subjective truth is the latest when they know there is danger that way. If we cannot warn someone of even basic danger out of love for them, then an attitude of dialogue goes on in the mind akin to saying, “Well, they need to follow their truth and who am I to tell them otherwise?” and shrug our shoulders and walk on by and then discard our concern. It becomes an excuse to not care about fellow mankind.
And let’s not forget this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son:
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son." Hebrews 12:5-6
Is the post-modern subjective truth model just a way to be uninvolved and uncaring to one another as we go on about our business “living our own individual truth”?
What effect does that have on you to know that others will not raise an alarm for you for fear of being considered arrogant or offensive? How confident do you feel in life if you know that others are not as concerned for you or are not looking out for you? How sure are you about the thoughts of those around you? How certain do you feel about your own opinions and path? No wonder anxiety, uncertainty, and a lack of life purpose are rising.
Is it the weakness of apathy?
Is subjective truth just an excuse for lazy thinking, challenge avoidance, lack of discernment? If we are never able to sift through other “truth” to find the answers because all “truths” are equal and valid, there is no reason to challenge the mind to a higher intelligence. No reason to sharpen the blade of intellect. No reason to discern anything. The Bible states that discipline produces peace and righteousness.
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed." Hebrews 12: 11-12 NIV
Science confirms that the basic challenge of learning a language or taking classes and challenging the mind keeps our brains healthier as we age2. If even basic science knows that the brain needs challenge and honing and the need to be used and useful, then how much more so for our sense of well being for ourselves and towards others?
Why Does Absolute Truth Lead to an Enhanced Ability to Love?
It is logical that the opposite would be true, that if the lack of discipline in the way we should go produces the opposite of peace and the opposite of righteousness then true righteousness and peace is to know and be like God and reflect His character. God is Love, therefore we have a much higher capacity to love available to us if we have peace and righteousness.
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. " 1 John 4:7-9 NIV
The God of the universe is a God of order, justice, and love. To ignore the laws of the universe with subjective truth is to also ignore the order within ourselves as well. To recognize truth in reality and ourselves is to recognize the fingerprint of the Creator who made it. In recognizing this truth we also will learn that He is love. Just by knowing this, we can have a firm foundation under our feet and extend with confidence love and concern for our neighbor. In turn, we can have peace that there is love in the world, a God who is personally concerned for each one of us, that we are each specifically loved and important.
How to Calm the Brain Chaos
1. Take stock of the known universe and its order and laws.
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous." Psalm 19:1-9 NIV
2. Look at yourself and the wonder of you as God’s precious creation
"You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you." Psalm 139: 1-18 NIV
3. See His immense love for you and follow Him
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. " John 3:16 ESV
4. Grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God’s word and show His love to others because He loves them as well
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:9-11 NIV
What if I already follow Jesus?
We all struggle from time to time with our own self-centered flesh. Sometimes we are just too tired to care. At other times, we are distracted by life and its message. When we find that we are losing love for others, experiencing less peace and more anxiety, uncertainty: delve back into His word, seek Him, look at your life and how to make the day a mission ground around you instead of just another day at work.
Do a perspective shift. When was last time you went to church? Read your Bible at home? The last small group Bible study for closer fellowship? Tap back into the life line of the body of Christ through fellowship with other believers. Go out to coffee with a few others to reconnect.
Life is busy, I get it. Make sure it’s busy for the right reasons and not creating brain chaos.
God bless you precious one and give you peace in knowing Him and love for others.
References:
U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs
Language and the brain: How learning a language at any age can support longevity
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