02.01.2010


   
Michael Fox CPCC,
founder of magine!,
is a professional
coach and trainer,
author and creative artist, whose work has been featured throughout
the world.

Michael is a
Certified Practitioner
of the
Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator.

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Darkness and light...
We live in Farmerville, Louisiana.

A distant help desk once asked me to clarify my address, "Is that Farmerville, or Farmersville?"

"Farmerville," I replied. "There's only one."

Recently, however, I found a Civil War-era map that listed our town as Farmersville.

Which means, at some point, one of them moved.


Farmerville's population is 3,860.

In the interests of full disclosure, we don't actually live in Farmerville, although Farmerville is our mailing address.

We live in the country--eight miles outside of Farmerville.

Prompting one friend to conclude, "Oh, you don't live in Farmerville. You live in a suburb of Farmerville."


It gets dark at night in Farmerville.

No, really dark.

I grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles.

At night in Los Angeles, even after I turned out all the lights in the house, there was still sufficient ambient light to read the newspaper.


Not many love to be in the dark. Either in reality, or metaphorically.

In fact, most men and women long to be among "the enlightened"--to perceive the truth on political, social, and spiritual issues.

In some ways, a sense of enlightenment shows up differently among men and women across the ideological spectrum. Those who brand themselves as "conservative" tend to perceive enlightenment as faithfulness, and typically give emphasis to preserving systems over individuals. Those who brand themselves as "progressive" tend to perceive enlightenment as compassion, and typically give emphasis to preserving individuals over systems.

A sense of enlightenment, however, can manifest itself in shared qualities--rather disturbing qualities--across the ideological spectrum, among both conservatives and progressives. These common qualities can include an angry, competitive spirit; an assumption of motives and a rush to judgment; an almost cartoonish mischaracterization of the opposition; and, a lack of rational dialog. And many among both groups, in truth, have only enough room in their tents of tolerance and hospitality for those who share their judgments.

Jesus encouraged, "Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness" (Luke 11:35).


Enlightenment, according to scripture (Galatians 5:22-23; James 1:5-8; 18-27) is relational; that is, the quality of our wisdom is reflected in the quality of our relationships. These relationships include, as Jesus taught, our relationship with our "enemies" (Matthew 5:44), those who oppose us, those who disagree with us. What might the quality of your relationships suggest of the quality of your wisdom?

Why do we assume that faithfulness and compassion are, in fact, polar opposites and thus mutually exclusive? Jesus, the Light of the World (John 9:5), is both a faithful and a compassionate High Priest (Hebrews 2:17).

How might our desire to be perceived as enlightened--on either side of the spectrum--mask the darkness within our own hearts?

Job discovered the depth--that is, the limits--of his enlightened wisdom in dialog with God. In a frightening yet amusing conversation with God, Job discovered that, not only did he not have all the right answers, he didn't even ask the right questions (Job 38-42:6). How might knowledge of God lead to humility and love, rather than arrogance and hate?


Michael Fox
m�agine!

530/613.2774
407 Myrtle Drive
Farmerville, LA, USA 71241  
In addition to personal and professional coaching,
m�agine! specializes in spiritual transformation coaching,
employing its proprietary models
--Values, Vision, Voice
and Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength--

as well as
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator� curriculum
published by CPP, the People Development People.

Michael's books include
 
Complete in Christ,
Complete in Christ Spiritual Transformation Workbook,
and Biblio�files.

Coaching fees are based upon a sliding scale. Contact us for details.
For additional information, visit our website at maginethepossibilities.net.

Limited scholarships are available for spiritual transformation coaching.
On the flip side, if you are able, please inquire about opportunities
to fund scholarships for those who cannot afford coaching fees.

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