Live As If is the seventh pattern and includes only Chapter 19 Harness the Psychology of the Soul. The author starts with examples of Teddy Roosevelt, William James, recovery programs, and many others to discuss the topic. He then grounds it in the life of Faith we are to live. We have all heard the concept and as the number of examples used indicates, we have a hard time learning this from others.
The Roosevelt example comes from his autobiography and references a book in which a character is explaining to another how to be fearless. The answer was to just act as if you are not afraid. Simple. Roosevelt found that out emotions will eventually succumb to the attitudes adopted by our minds. He says anyone can be fearless if they choose.
William James tells us that our feelings are not directly under our control, but that we can take action without caring how we feel. Another way to say this is “Fake it until you make it.” That sounds like a great model for our lives, right?
The gap between all these pieces and reality is that if self-help were really that easy, no one would need it. We earlier studied about operating on ourselves and although the surgeon in the example used a scalpel on himself, we need to use the Word of God to operate on ourselves. In order to “Live As If”, we have to surrender our doubts and fears and have faith that what we are doing will work out.
I am watching the tv series The Expanse and it had a similar theme to on set of characters. The characters were bad people and agreed that they would live as if they were good people and do the things good people did. When one character killed another to take its food, shelter, and transportation, another character asked if these were the actions of a good person. Beyond the other issues at play, unlike acting not afraid or acting unemotional, or faking it, being good is something that has an external foundation, and this Biblical or Godly perspective turns this theory of pretending into living according to faith in God and what He has promised.
If I did not believe in God, then my tithing to my church would be a colossal act of stupidity. From His perspective it is an honorable act of worship. From a worldly perspective it is money I could use to buy a car or go on a trip or whatever.
I spoke to two old colleagues today or colleagues from when I was much younger if I was trying to be PC. They are both people who knew I would do my best on stuff for the office because I was working not to please them as my client, but to please God as my Lord. One works in a prison ministry and the other still cares for me as if I was her kid. Our goal in life should be to live each moment as if the only outcomes of live were either dying and going to heaven or dying and going to hell for each of us and for each of those around us.
David did not look at Goliath as a giant who could easily kill him, but as an opponent of God that God had called him to defeat. He knew he was going to win and acted like it. We all suffer from fear, from not wanting to face whatever is before us, but when we know we are going to overcome, we should act like it. Its not whether we will come out the other side, it is how.
Hebrews 11:27, Romans, 8:28, and Proverbs 23:7 are just some of the examples the Bible gives us of reasons to “Live As If”. My favorite part of the chapter was a quote from Charles Spurgeon that says: “When you have asked for your daily bread, no more to be disturbed with care, but to believe that God has heard you and will give it to you.”
Ephesians 6:7 tasks us with working for God. It is a command with a promise. For Big D, the book says “if you’re taking a class…imagine Jesus as the professor…and please Him. There are many other examples in this chapter, but our emotions come and go, but our attitudes can come and grow. So pick your attitude, let it grow, and Live As If.