Paradigm Paralysis

In order to get out of our paradigm paralysis we need to think outside the box but not outside of the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I wrote about paradigm shifting on my previous post so I’ll touch a little on paradigm paralysis.

Perhaps the greatest barrier to a paradigm shift, in some cases, is the reality of paradigm paralysis: the inability or refusal to see beyond the current models of thinking (taken from Wikipedia).

Or I could use the common definition of insanity which Einstein says is

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

Or according to New Webster’s

A deranged state of the mind

Being as most people quote Einstein’s I will follow suit, be paralyzed, and keep to that paradigm…I say this in jest.

So to be paralyzed in my paradigms is to continue to live based on my current stronghold that has been built since before I was born. Now imagine living before Christ was born in the midst of the Pharisees and Sadducees and Roman occupation. Things have been taught and ingrained into people’s minds for many, many years. Then John the Baptist comes and starts dismantling mindsets to get some out of their paradigm paralysis. And then comes Jesus who is living Truth, the One who has been with the Father, come to shift paradigms and carry on getting others of our paralysis.

You could pull many Scriptures out where Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said…but I say to you.” “This is how you were taught and told what to believe…but I say to you.”

Lets look at the paradigm paralysis of the Apostle Peter Acts 10.

And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

And also in Acts 10 it says

And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

The Apostles were also stuck in their own paradigm paralysis. They thought, believed, and lived their life based upon what they thought to be true. Or consider pre-Christians and how they lived their lives paralyzed by a wrong paradigm. Or how we currently, even following the Lord, are paralyzed by our wrong paradigms and held captive by demonic strongholds. We have not pulled down these strongholds and have not taken thought captive but we let them build up and create boxed paradigms and are unable to break free. We need that paradigm shift to get us out of paralysis and into the liberty of having our paradigm/strongholds outside of the box and formed by the Holy Spirit and Heaven’s Truth…on earth as it is in heaven. We have the mind of Christ. We think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. Those things that are praiseworthy and honorable we think on those things. We need to set our mind on things above, where we are seated in the Spirit. And we can only do these things by following Christ and believing in His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension and having His precious blood cleansing us from all paralysis.

Prayer:

Father, in Jesus’ name

I come before Your throne bodly, seeking mercy and grace. Break me free from any and all paralysis in my paradigms so that I may shift into Truth. Help me to set my mind on things above and to walked in the mind and paradigm of Christ. Help me to break down all strongholds that You did not erect and help me to build up Godly, Spirit-led paradigms with the foundation of Your Truth and blood and sacrifice for me. Give me more and more “Aha!” moments and revelation into Your heart and thoughts and paradigm of me. Wash me with Your blood. Fill me to overflowing with Your Breath. Breath in, on, and through me. Transfigure me into Your image and according to Your likeness. Free me from all religion and religious spirits and religious paradigms. Set me free so I may run into the Arms of Liberty.

In the name above all other names, Jesus of Nazareth.

Amen and Amen!

C.S. Lewis said

My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it Himself.

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Paradigms

In Wm. Paul Young’s book, The Shack, there is an interesting phrase

Paradigms power perception and perceptions power emotions. Most emotions are responses to perception – what you think is true about a given situation. If your perception is false, then your emotional response to it will be false too. So check your perceptions, and beyond that check the truthfulness of your paradigms – what you believe. Just because you believe something firmly doesn’t make it true. Be willing to reexamine what you believe.

How many of us question our paradigms? Do we realize how much our paradigms will filter the Scriptures we read and the situations we face? Paradigms give us an opinion on our past, response to our present, and an outlook on future possibilities.

Paradigm – a theory or a group of ideas about how something should be done, made, or thought about.

Paradigm Shift – a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.

Paradigm Paralysis – the inability or refusal to see beyond the current models of thinking

Imagine a paradigm being a box with a hole it in and you are stuck in that box. It doesn’t matter the size of the box or the hole. There is only a limited viewpoint in which you can see things and you base all other things upon that one hole in that box. You could also relate this to only looking at something through a microscope or binoculars. Both are a part of the view but never the whole picture. More on this in the next post.

A more biblical word for paradigm is stronghold, which resides in the soul. The Greek is ochyrōma which means, anything on which one relies and of the arguments and reasonings by which a disputant endeavors to fortify his opinion and defend it against his opponent. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

Paradigm = Strongholds

Our paradigms are formed by the sum of all our experiences molded by what we believe about them or what we are told to believe about them. We can usually tell what our paradigm are based upon the emotions we are feeling at the moment (I say usually because I don’t want to make a blanket statement). When I have a reaction emotionally from an external circumstance, I can then go to my perception to gauge why I feel that way and if I can discern my perception being wrong I must make a paradigm shift in order to pull down that current way of thinking. For instance, if I get in a discussion with my wife and she says something that I take wrong and get offended and feel shameful about I can then go to my perception of what she said and see, based on my paradigm, how/why I am believing a certain way about something. This is where our spirit/spirit man/inner man comes into play. Because we are three parts: spirit, soul, and body, I can, with my spirit, take what my soul is doing and look at it objectively or discerningly. Generally speaking, this can only be done if my spirit has been built up and nourished is some way. Originally we were spirit, soul, and body but after the Fall we live body, soul, and spirit until Christ came and reversed it back to the original intent of spirit, soul, and body. There are some that believe spirit and soul are the same but, according to scripture that is wrong in my opinion.

Back to my example. I, in that situation, can go along with the emotion and operate out of the reaction of my soul or I can choose to respond from my inner man who holds the complete Paradigm of God. I can stay in shame or offense easily if I’ve, first off never questioned my emotions, or my spirit is overcome with the soul. I used to, but still do sometimes, act like a defenseless animal in a cage meanwhile my spirit has opened the cage and offered freedom. What I have learned to do when I started reacting out of my soul or current paradigm is step back into my spirit and ask God to change my current paradigm or what I like to pray is, “Father God, father me in this area of my life where I have leaned on my own understanding instead of the Spirit and Your fullness and acknowledging You.” Doing this breaks me out of my box/shell/microscope/binoculars and shows me something else that is more true.

In my next post/blog/article/whatever you want to call it, I will talk about kind of the same thing…so stay tuned!