In 1923 Sigmund Freud determined that the human psyche, or personality, has three components: the id, the ego, and the super-ego.
According to Freud, the id is the primitive part of our being which responds to stimuli by instinct. It is impulsive and aggressive. It is motivated by satisfying basic needs and obtaining personal pleasure. The super-ego, on the other hand, is that part which serves as a moral conscience led by the values it has learned from society. It’s function is to control the impulses of the Id.
The ego is a sort of referee of all this, the decision-making bit of the person. It works by reason, perhaps compromising or postponing the desires of the id in order to avoid negative consequences of society. The ego is where the will comes in. Freud likened the id to a horse with the ego as a rider struggling to manage the greater strength of the horse.
I find it all much simpler to imagine Danny DeVito in debate with Emily Post, moderated by Mr. Spock.
God simplifies things much better. God doesn’t need Freud’s help – or mine. He revealed to us from the beginning that we are created in His Image:
“Then God said, ’Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness….’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Gen. 1:26,27, NASB)
Part of this God-likeness included free will. He breathed into us something unique, and man arose a living soul, eternal… like Him.
But we mis-used the ‘free will’ bit. We kicked Him out of our hearts and He kicked us out of His Garden. Things have not been right since.
He loves us and, marvel of marvels, He wants us back! But we can’t steer our own way to Him, we have to give Him the controls. We have to stop shouting ‘Leggo my EGO!’ and give it all to Him, side dish, syrup and all! We must see how frail we all are. Our towers made of ‘EGO bricks’ all tumble flat in seconds at the pass of a tornado, a flood, a tsunami. He is shouting loud these last days! ‘Let Me drive… I want to bring you home!’
Please!
More tomorrow…
thebrokenrunner 