The Flesh is Weak, Or Why Jesus Got It Wrong
Gregg Zegarelli Esq.
Managing Shareholder at Technology & Entrepreneurial Ventures Law Group, PC
Probably like you, I love the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. He was certainly a wise man, and the personal theistic savior of many, but I think he might have gotten it wrong when he said, "The flesh is weak."
In all fairness to Jesus, he actually said, in context:
"Get?up and pray?that you may not undergo?the test.?The spirit is willing, but the flesh?is weak.”
But, here is our concern: we know that the flesh (or "body" in some translations) is not really weak; in fact, the flesh is strong. In fact, the needs of our flesh are so strong, that we have a hard time constraining our flesh.
It is not because of the weakness of our flesh that we get into trouble, but because our flesh overpowers us.
Let's take a proper moment to think about the flesh, in the context of a human being.
A human being is part flesh and part mind. Flesh has an advantage here, because the mind is generally considered to be within the brain, which is flesh. [2]
Some people will add a spiritual dimension to a human being, but let us be more universally true and not impose a component of theism or spirituality onto a significant portion of humanity who deny it, such as our brothers and sisters, some atheists and perhaps agnostics.
God, or perhaps natural evolution if you prefer, gave us two hemispheres to our brain. Why so? Because that fact makes us truly human beings. That fact creates the interesting debate within ourselves, allowing us to ascend or descend, as we may think and act.
To make a statement more of metaphor than physiology, imagine a human being of all logic or all emotion, creating extremely uninteresting machines or unorganized personal chaotic basket-cases. It is the unanswerable debates that we have within our own psyche, expressed to others with different opinions in society, that keeps everything "interesting," for better or worse.
This is also the reason why some people think "everyone getting along together" is unattainable, since we can't even get along with ourselves, by design.
But, back to the flesh. If we cannot resist that doughnut that our flesh desires, is it really because of weak flesh? Or, if we cannot get up in the morning to go to the gym, is it really our flesh's fault that it wants to convince us to sleep? We should not think so.
The mind is supposed to control the flesh, and Socrates would say that this control is what provides the foundation for personal justice or harmony. That is, without the mind being able to control the flesh, a person exists in the state of personal anarchy. That is, out of control. [3, 4]
In fact, the inability to resist that craving for one doughnut too many, or the inability to resist the desire for that woman or man, is not because of weak flesh, it is because of strong flesh matched to a relatively weak mind.
I once heard someone purporting to teach saying that all the ills of society were caused by "ignorance." But, this is simply not true. Ignorance is only part of it. Overcoming the ignorance is to lead the horse to the water. Many persons who breached a marital commitment knew it was "wrong," but the flesh was too strong. It was not a matter of "ignorance," but a matter of "discipline."
"Discipline" is the mental ability to control the flesh. It's not easy, and we all fail.
But for some tendency to mental failure or mental disease, as a general rule, the body does exactly what the mind commands or allows.
Let us observe the training of a soldier, a paramount of discipline conditioning: a soldier is conditioned for restraint in battle when courage would make her act; and a soldier is conditioned to bravery in battle when fear would make him not act.
That is, discipline is to hold when the body wants to attack, and discipline is to attack when the body wants to hold. A reversal of natural tendency. Discipline is what causes some persons to throw their legs over the bed to get to the gym at 4:30 a.m. By definition, discipline is resisting the natural inclinations of the flesh.
Wisdom is to know thyself, but discipline is to conquer thyself.
Discipline is control of the flesh, and I'll suggest that the flesh is not weak, but strong. So, the next time we fail in action, we should not be too Jesusianally excusive and forgiving with "woe is me, my flesh is weak" but rather say, "woe to me, my mind is too weak to control my strong flesh." Only a strong mind controls a strong flesh. Generally speaking, all flesh is strong, but only some minds are strong, enough. The problem is not our strong flesh, the problem is our weak mind.
This reversal of perspective refocuses attribution to the necessary point of correction.
It is never a best practice for us to underestimate the thing that we would conquer.
In fact, our flesh is strong, it is our mind that is weak. [1.2]
[1] ONE?: The Unified Gospel of Jesus, Divine Version [Second Edition] Published [#GRZ_59] 1.1 ONE: 2615 [T26:41; R14:38 L22:40;L22:46] ("Flesh Weak"); 1.2 ONE: 621 [T7:13] ("Narrow Gate")
"Animus infirmus, caro fortis." ("The mind is weak, the flesh is strong."); "Sapientia est te ipsum nosse, disciplina autem est te ipsum vincere." ("Wisdom is to know thyself, but discipline is to conquer thyself.") ~grz
* Gregg Zegarelli, Esq., earned both his Bachelor of Arts Degree and his Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His dual major areas of study were History from the College of Liberal Arts and Accounting from the Business School (qualified to sit for the CPA examination), with dual minors in Philosophy and Political Science. He has enjoyed Adjunct Professorships in the Duquesne University Graduate Leadership Master Degree Program (The Leader as Entrepreneur; Developing Leadership Character Through Adversity) and the University of Pittsburgh Law School (The Anatomy of a Deal). He is admitted to various courts throughout the United States of America.
Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.,?is Managing Shareholder of Technology & Entrepreneurial Ventures Law Group, PC.?Gregg is nationally rated as "superb" and has more than 35 years of experience working with entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes, including startups,?INC. 500, and publicly traded companies.?He is author of One: The Unified Gospel of Jesus, and The Business of Aesop? article series, and co-author with his father, Arnold Zegarelli, of The Essential Aesop: For Business, Managers, Writers and Professional Speakers. Gregg is a frequent lecturer, speaker and faculty for a variety of educational and other institutions.
? 2018 Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn.
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Helping our clients make important financial planning and asset management decisions, before and during retirement. President at Henry Wealth Management
5 年A brilliant line of reasoning Gregg! A great “strong” share????
Entrepreneur - CHS Consulting, Inc at DBA Pirate Pirate Cleaning and Services
6 年So, the flesh is willing, and the mind weak? My daily burden.