[Pearls Ep 130: Answering atheism Tuesday.]
Talk of detachment calls up mental images of cold, aloof, bloodless people – sort of like a Vulcan, without the benefits of being able to do a mind-meld or a neck-pinch (yes, Steve wrote that part).
It’s worth emphasizing that nothing is further from the truth. By practicing detachment we re-order our passions to work as intended – so that we value what God values, and love as God loves. Think of Jesus in the Gospels – we see joy, mercy, loyalty, gentleness, surprise, anger, determination, the whole range of human emotion, properly ordered.
Detachment is the path to being truly human.
As is the case in all things, when it comes to detachment the fallen world gets a few rays of light, but not the full spectrum.
Stoics practice detachment so that they can be at peace in the world. But they view the world as God (they are, essentially, pantheists) – and so, whatever is in the world is God, and thus there is no point in being passionate, one way or another, about anything – all passion, all emotion, is counterproductive.
Gnostics view created things as evil – especially the body. Thus detaching from bodily things allows for the exaltation of the mind. That “dualist” mentality is creeping into the modern world view – especially through transhumanism. The transhumanist mindset is that our bodies are smelly, unreliable and generally ill-conceived affairs that are not really worth the trouble. All you need is your brain – that’s where all the good stuff happens. You don’t actually have to do things in the world, you just have to reproduce the right chemical reactions in your brain. Poof! All the messiness is gone. Adventure without risk. Partying without the hangover. And “love” without STDs – including the worst STDs of all – commitment, responsibility and (shudder) children.
Eastern religions view detachment as a means to earn enlightenment or nirvana. Different forms of Hinduism and Jainism even recommend extreme mortification, like perpetual nakedness, as the best way to shed “bad karma.” In this view, passions become merely a currency to be traded for good karma.
For Christians, as we have noted, breaking our disordered attachments to worldly things is how we properly attach ourselves to God. Union with God is the perfect reason for detachment. But is always extraordinary generous and there are a number of other benefits – both eternal and earthly – that flow from detachment.
First the eternal benefits:
- Reduce or eliminate our time in purgatory. Detachment will certainly help purge any deep-seated serious sin. But it also helps purge venial sins – which can be nearly as damaging as capitol sins. John of the Cross uses the analogy of tethering a bird – a small thread or heavy chain – either will keep the bird from soaring. Any disordered attachment must be burned away in the purifying fire of purgatory – so, all the better to do away with them in the here and now.
- Increase our blessedness in Heaven. Our degree of blessedness in heaven (the amount of God’s glory that we can take in) is dependent on how much we stretch our soul’s capacity to love in this life. The more detached we are, the more we will be able to love in this life, and the more we will be able to receive from God in Heaven.
And, the benefits in the here-and-now:
- Our prayer life improves. All of us struggle with distraction in prayer – and much of the distraction is fed by our attachments. As we remove attachment we’ll see our prayer come easier. And, as prayer “improves” we’ll naturally be less inclined to attachments – a spiritual “two-fer”!
- Our relationships improve. As we detach our relationship will improve. Now, any particularly dysfunctional relationships may actually go away, but that’s still an improvement. But all of our relationships will improve, because we’re coming more and more to love as God loves.
- Our life in the world will improve. Why? Because we’ll make better decisions. Our intellect doesn’t function properly when encumbered with unhealthy attachments. “My anger got the best of me” or “my judgement was clouded” or “I don’t know what I was thinking?” – most of our forehead-smacking moments are born of unhealthy attachments. Detachment is part of the process St. Paul is speaking of when he calls us to the “renewal of our mind so that we may know the will of God” – there’s no better place from which to make decisions.
Here’s to detachment – and the lively humanity that comes from it.
Steve and Karen Smith – Interior Life.