Lent Day 7 – Stiff-Necked People

The Hebrew language tends to be much more agile than English. It has more agility because it has a lot less words. So those words need room for imagination and flexibility for the complexities of human communication. One example is the Hebrew language uses the word “neck” as a metaphor for “soul." Neck is the organizing entity that keeps it all together. The neck makes sure we remain a whole body, with all of its different parts, working together. It is at the center that keeps one part of the body from arrogantly declaring independence from another.  It draws a direct line between the head and the heart, giving and receiving in contestant life producing reciprocity. The head sends life giving messages to the rest of the body while the heart send life giving blood and oxygen to the brain. Like the neck in the body, it was understood that the “soul” was the very thing that held the “self” connected to the life-giving Creator and His creation. The term “soul” in Scripture refers to the center of human-being that keeps it connected to itself, and that which is bigger than itself. Soul refers to the life-giving center of our core that connects to the life-giving core of who God is. Eugene Peterson, in his book Christ Play in Ten Thousand Places, states, “Soul carries with it resonances of God-created, God-Sustained, and God-blessed. It is our most comprehensive term for designating the core of being of men and women” (pg.36). Soul is the place that we discover our true self in the life of the Creator.

One critically important distinction that Peterson makes is between the “self” and the “soul.” Self, left on its own, can create the dangerous illusion of disconnection and radical independence. The goal of self becomes self-sufficiency. The danger lies in what this independence “self” sufficiency produces. It produces a smaller, more myopic “me.” “I” am so much more than “me.” When it is all “I”, I become so self-obsessed which causes me to cave in on myself. Ironically, my self-obsession, driven by fear and control only isolates me and creates a smaller life. It is a life marked by anxiety, consumption and frustration. There is no room for the massive life of all “others.” 

This condition of self-obsession and self-consumption has a name. The Scripture calls it “stiff-necked.” In light of the Hebrew usage of neck, we can understand that term as being stiff-souled. A soul that has become tight, hardened and closed off. A soul that can no longer move or be moved. A soul that has become smaller, more darkened and increasingly lifeless. The Scripture is not kind to stiff-souled people. They are people without the openness to listen and humility for the abundant life outside of their tiny existence. They are people consumed with self-ideas, self-interests and self-protections. It describes them as cruel, rebellious, stubborn and hard. They are people who can neither give nor receive. They have become disconnected and lifeless.

Jesus asks, “What is it to gain the whole world, but lose your soul/self?” (Matt 16:26, Mark 8:36, Luke 9:25). My recovery from being a stiff-necked person is a movement into being open. I must learn to let go of my ideas of how the world should work, how people should behave and how God needs to do His job. I need humility to know that my”self” is not the highest being or the highest objective. Rather, there is a soul within me that is more “me” than anything else. It is the “me” that is deeply connected to all other creation and the Creator himself. As Peterson reminds me, “it is the core of being of men and women.” There is a mystery here I’m seeking to enter into. It’s a place where I can go beyond myself and deeper into connection with the Divine and the shared human experience. A place called the soul.

As I continue to journey into the wilderness of silence and solitude looking for my leader and guide (Jesus) who has gone before me, I find that I can slowly move beyond the darkness of self-obsession and into greater vulnerability, trust and connection. There is so much more life in the soul than the isolated self! It is there I find my “self” with less requests and less words. I can discover the “more” I’m looking for in a place of listening and receiving. The place where the soul opens up and enlarges. The last thing I need is more of “me.” I’m full of myself! I need something deeper, more eternal, more assured. I need something that is soulful and life giving. I seek the giver of life to fill and lift my soul.