Practical Wisdom from the Sorites Paradox

Hello all, today I would like to try and share with you a practical piece of advice for your Christian walk. As stated by the title, the wisdom will be derived from the Sorites Paradox.

The Sorites Paradox

Simply put, the Sorites Paradox asks the question, "how many grains of sand make a heap?" Is it one? No, it can't be just one grain of sand. How about two? No, we are still lacking. On and on the questions go until an agreement can be made as to exactly how many grains of sand are in a heap, or until some other thing occurs. Another variation of this paradox involves hairs on a head, but I personally like to think of rain, and that is the illustration I will use in this blog.

What is a Storm?

I would like to convey an idea to you that I first learned from CS Lewis. An idea that is of very significant importance to any free being, but even more so to those of us who struggle with using our will for good or evil. The idea, or rather, the piece of advice that I wish to give to you is simply that everything we do matters. Every action you make, good or bad, big or small, makes a difference. Not only does it affect the world around you, it affects you. Lets take for example, a man named Aldous. Lets say that Aldous one day wakes up and is evil, does this seem right? No, because people don't just randomly wake up as evil beings. Instead, a series of experiences and choices add up and, having left their mark on his soul, produce an evil man. Please understand that I do not wish to get into a heredity vs. environment debate here, I am simply illustrating a point that I think most people will agree with, and that is simply that the things we do and experience affect us. We change because of the things that happen in our lives. Every action and experience is like a rain drop (for the most part anyways, since it is true that there are times where a single experience can change everything), seemingly insignificant on its own, but when take together with all of the other rain drops, you get a storm. Think about this principle and how it applies to sin. A boy may decide one day to look at a magazine that he knows he shouldn't, but just once. After all, will one time ever hurt anybody? Well, one time turns into a hundred and before he knows it he is hooked on pornography. Another good example is smoking. "One more cigarette won't kill me." You may be right, but the sum of cigarettes smoked will. The point here is that having a "just one more time" mindset is very dangerous. We cannot help but be affected by what we do, wheter good or bad.

An Encouragement

Keep striving to do whats right, even little things, because just like with a storm, every rain drop contributes to the whole. Every good act you do contributes to making your soul good. This is not to say that salvation can be achieved through hard work, but good character can be. Deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Jesus. He will give you every help you need, but you must will yourself to move that cross. If you stop doing evil, which will be tough, and begin to do good, then you will gradually notice that you yourself are becoming a better person. Every action counts, so don't say things like, "just one more time." That just may be the one time to many, when some damage is done that cannot be undone. This principle works wonders for the good, but great evils for the bad (good and bad refer to actions, not people, in this case).

Closing

Hope it helps! God bless and Jesus loves you!!

-Jon