It’s been said that one of the things that sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is our ability to create. G.K. Chesterton explains that birds create nests, but it’s always the same nest, the kind of nest they are programmed to make. A bird can’t just decide to create the Taj Mahal.
It’s also been said that people with OCD tend to be highly analytical as well as highly creative. Who else could come up with the plethora of what-if’s like we do? I mean, c’mon! I imagine most of us would gladly trade some of that analytical creativity for a psych-normal brain!
Unfortunately, when it comes to Religious OCD, our imaginings are always negative. God’s imagination, however, is considerably different.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…
Ephesians 3:20 NIV
Even as part of the scrupe community, my creative analysis is nonetheless woefully limited compared to the God who sees all potentialities, all possible outcomes, all at the same time.
And perhaps more importantly, the primary goal is not so much about right now, but about ultimate outcomes. I want to channel some of this God-given creativity into “I wonder what God is going to do with this?”; that is, to see beyond the present struggle.
I love the story about a man who took two little boys being into a horse barn, each boy shown into separate stalls. The first boy was soon found to be sorely disappointed. He just sat down and cried because the stall was full of manure: stinky hot, with flies buzzing all around him. He was hopelessly dejected.
When the man checked on the second boy, he was busy slinging the old straw and smelly manure out with a pitchfork he found in the corner of the stall. When asked why he was doing that, the boy replied, “With all this manure, I just know there’s gotta be a pony in here somewhere!”
The first boy allowed his initial disappointment to turn into despair. He may have seen the pitchfork in the corner of his stall, but despair can be blinding to any possible good outcome. So he sat in his odiferous misery.
The second boy analyzed his situation and used his creativity to foresee a potentially positive outcome. Instead of “what if nobody comes to help me”, “what if I have to stay in this yucky stall the rest of my life”, he was activity pursuing “what if there’s a real live pony in here?” and putting that what-if into action.
Like Dr. Eckert says, turn the what-if’s around: What if I’m doing exactly what God wants me to? What if I’ve actually heard Him correctly? What if I’m where God expects me to be right now in this process?
Let’s just say it’s a way to pitch the scrupulosity c**p back in the enemy’s face…
To learn more about scrupulosity/Religious OCD, check out Dr. Eckert’s website:
INSPIRATION with an ATTITUDE 