Response to Questions about Fenelon's The Seeking Heart

Before reviewing N.T. Wright's book, Simply Christian, I want to try to answer some of the great questions Bud Reed left in the comment section about Francois Fenelon's writing, The Seeking Heart.

Bud, bear in mind that I'm not an expert on Francois Fenelon or on 17th century Catholic theolgy, but I'll do my best. If anyone has any wise words for us, they are very welcome to leave a comment.

You ask what Fenelon means when he says we should separate ourselves from restless thoughts that grow out of self-love.

My understanding is that Fenelon is talking about the stress we feel when things happen to us that we can't control. The negative feelings you mention - anger, envy, and worry - are exactly what Fenelon means. Fenelon believes that these feelings are a sign that our faith still needs to grow. Our fear and worry when we can't see how things are going to work out exposes our lack of trust; our anger when our will is blocked shows how we desire our will to be done rather than God's; our envy of others shows our lack of contentment in what God has given.

Fenelon believed that we should see God at work in our daily circumstances, especially those that force us to confront our self-love in painful ways. Allow God to kill this self-love and learn to love God instead. This is what he means by receiving our cross.

Here's an example. Let's say you are publically maligned. People say unfair and incorrect things about you. You make an effort to tell them the truth with patience and gentleness but the attacks continue. People not only attack your actions but your character and your motivations. They lie about you. Does it hurt? Why? Because we human beings want others to like us. We want people to respect us. We want people to look up to us.

According to the Bible this is a form of self-love. The Bible makes it very clear that you should care much more about what God thinks about you and not worry to much when people hate you for doing what is right (Luke 6: 22, 26, Matthew 22: 16, Galatians 1: 10 etc.) Fenelon would say that you should do what you can to set the record straight but beyond that, it is out of your control. If their hate causes you pain or anger, see that as God teaching you not to depend on the love of people but rather on his love for your happiness. Let your need to please people die.

Make sure to spend time in prayer, asking God to teach you to care more about serving him than you do about your reputation with men and women. Fenelon's constant advice is to sit quietly in prayer with God.

Accept the lesson with gratitude. Once God has set you free of your need to be respected an enormous burden is lifted. People no longer have power over you to make you miserable. You no longer have to defend yourself from every attack like a defendent on trial. You can endure the scorn of others and it no longer affects your joy. Remember that God's purpose is that you have freedom and joy. Any pain along the way will be worth it.

Accepting the cross of daily circumstances doesn't mean doing nothing. You mention working hard to find a job when you were out of work. Fenelon would approve of working hard to find a job. But he would also say this is a great opportunity to learn to trust God while you are without one. Do what you can. Then be at peace and trust in God to do what he can. If you are not at peace in the midst of the struggle, see that as a sign that you need to put your worries before God in prayer.

Fenelon also counsels repeatedly that we should be patient with our failures. Dying to our self-love is a life-long process. Being patient with yourself is just as much an act of love and humility as being patient with someone else. Be able to laugh at yourself.

As another Christian once wrote, angels can fly because they take themselves so lightly.