Saying 'Goodbye' to Casper

This one thing I do; leaving the past behind, and turning to all that God has for me.” (Philippians 3:13, MPV)

     The memories and cares of the past inflict many a man and woman.

     In my work in a local counseling agency, I see this fact replicated hundreds of times on a yearly basis. I suppose the most heinous circumstance that inflicts mankind is guilt over past mistakes and events. Past People, Places and Things engulf our lives.

     In the movie, “A Beautiful Mind” John Nash arrives at a crucial place in life. Dr. Nash was, (and is) a wonderfully gifted professor of Mathematics at Princeton University. Unfortunately, he was also Schizophrenic. His fame proceeded him, as he slowly sank into paranoid, delusional and hallucinogenic behavior.

 

     Through a combination of self-actualization, medical treatment, prescription medication and intensive effort, John achieved some relief from his confusion, doubt and pain.

     We see him bending down to talk to a little girl; a little girl who is not there. He gently strokes her long, black, silky hair, and he smiles a whimsical smile. His words portray a wonderful picture; “Baby girl, I’m sorry, but I can’t talk to you anymore.” And even as the precious, little wisp begins to cry silent tears, John walks away from her. Now Dr. Nash steps up to his roommate; a roommate who never was, but who has befriended him over many years. And he utters similar words, as before. “Charles, you’ve been a good friend to me, but I won’t speak to you anymore.”

      I think John Nash has a lot to teach us. Too many of us entertain our delusions and demons. Oh, I’m not talking literal demon infestation here, but I’m talking about those habits, memories and behavior patterns that inflict us. We play with them like we play with marbles. We entertain them like we entertain our best friends.

     We are given “free will” and we find ourselves living out Romans Chapter 7; “What I would do, I do not, and that which I loathe, that I do.” (7:19, MPV)

     The truth? We are familiar with our “demons”; so familiar that we can’t easily give them up. Our defense mechanisms, habits and memories have weighed us down so long that we feel naked without them. They have been friends “that stick closer than a brother.”

     I think that true religion and ultimate friendship with God requires us to bid adieu to our “demons.” Like John Nash, we must bid farewell to these “little Caspers,” and turn to all that God has prepared for us. The ghosts of our pasts have haunted us long enough.

By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "Unconventional Devotions" copyright 2005