Yikes, the algebra class I’m taking is making me start to think in terms of equations/variables/algebraic expressions…. and it’s affecting how I think spiritually!

Yesterday I was driving home from class and my mind drifted to the challenges of life. I got to thinking:

Just stating a negative about your life makes you sound like a whiner, and besides, that’s not the whole truth.

Equally so, stating only the positive, can come off trite and pollyanna-ish, like you’re not acknowledging difficulties.

Take the following expressions for example:

My knee injury is the pits (-a).

Jesus is at work and uses all things for His glory (b).

How you put the two statements together makes a difference. The word “but” can create trouble depending on what kind of meaning you’re after:

My knee injury is the pits, BUT Jesus is at work using all things for His glory.

Here BUT appears to CANCEL OUT the first part of the statement. We tend to say things like this to diminish or get rid of pain with words or to appear pious.

When speaking about the reality of “what is”, it’s more correct to say:

My knee injury is the pits, AND (+) Jesus is at work using all things in my life for His glory.

-a + b = The whole truth

But let’s say we want to compare the VALUE of the two realities (-a) and (b). With Romans 8:18 in mind (I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us), it’s definitely appropriate to use the < symbol:

My knee injury is the pits (-a), YET (<) Jesus is at work using all things for His glory (b).

-a < b

How about that? Did you ever suspect that math can speak deep spiritual truth?

But I’d better stop here. Perhaps these musings won’t add up correctly, but this sure was a fun exercise in “spiritual logic.”