Integration

"Integrate what you believe into every single area of your life." - Meryl Streep

How well do we integrate what we believe into every single are of our lives?

If I consider it deeply, what I realize is that in many ways this is a concept which is often discusses as part of self-actualization but too often seems to be a luxury reserved for those who can afford it or those who are supported. Integration of what we believe - truly believe - is actually a costly endeavor - not just in terms of money, but in terms of reputation and the ability to survive - especially if your "integrated self" is contrary to the prevailing attitudes of the environment around you.

But does that make it a goal less worth striving for? Not all - in fact, as I continue to exist I find it to be one of the most important goals of all.

This concept of integration of our beliefs should be no surprise to the Christian, simply because this is what Christ expected of us: "He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me" (John 14:21a). In fact, the Torah is a compendium of God commanding the people of Israel to integrate their beliefs, not just in the inner person (The Ten Commandments) but physically and visually through the dietary, moral and social laws. The ideal Jew was to integrate their belief in God both inwardly and outwardly, through moral behavior and correct thinking as much as through the physical manifestations of avoiding ceremonial uncleanness and being set apart.

But perhaps there is a lesson in failure of the Jewish nation, that they became so focused on the outward manifestations of integration that they forgot the true point of the inward integration: to be holy as God is holy.

Inward integration of our beliefs is always much more difficult. It requires time; it requires thought; it requires continual application of our beliefs to our active lives - and it requires a great deal of courage to live that out. Outward integration to a movement or society is always much easier, simply because we don't have to much: just agree with whoever is in charge and do what they say and we'll blend in.

Those that have integrated their beliefs into their lives always stand out. I cannot specifically give a key to how to know them any more than I can point to a wind blowing in the open plain and say "There it is". The integration is so complete that they simply are what they appear to be.

So perhaps the real question to ask is not "Why am I not integrating my beliefs into my live?" Integration is a process like any other that can be accomplished as it's been done before. Perhaps the real, the profound question is "What do I believe?" and the second, "Do I believe it to the point of acting on it?"