The Matrix: Romance or Truth?
After two years, I walk into an institution again. What I feel there is not education. It is anesthesia.
Romans 12:2
For two years, I didn’t set foot in a single institution. Then I found myself sitting in a hall again. And the effect was frightening.
Not because something terrible was said there. But because something felt terrible.
Knowledge from Books
In front of me: uninterested faces. They are looking at people who got their knowledge from books and not from life. And I ask myself: What exactly am I learning here?
A quiet, crushing mood settles over the room. The words sound encouraging. But what I sense inside runs against the feeling the whole hall seems to share. What does that teach me?
They talk about the fears we young people supposedly have. And I ask myself: Do we really have these fears? Or are they being planted in us right now?
“… for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
2 Timothy 1:7
Averages become the measure of the individual. And at the same time, we are told that modern life is the age of the individual. Both at once. What do I learn from that?
My consciousness looks to the left and to the right. It understands little of what is happening here. But it knows one thing: This feels like anesthesia.
The Cry for Intoxication
A place like this practically cries out for intoxication. The crowd, the cramped space, the pressure: all of it hits your nervous system at once. Tension builds. You are charged.
This energy could be transformed. It could carry you further. But if you don’t use it, it backs up. And at some point you no longer have stress. You are stress.
Then, on Friday night, you get drunk to get rid of that nagging tension. Is that necessary?
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit …”
Ephesians 5:18
Take the energy that places like this charge you with into yourself, instead of trying to get rid of it at any cost. Let it be transformed instead of numbing it.
This School Must Burn
And I tell you: This school must burn.
Not its walls. No. Its worldview, which accepts only what can be measured and weighed. Let it burn down spiritually, and the program with it.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2
The Wall That Was Never There
When this fire burns in you, it breaks through your walls. Through the walls built of expectations, averages and fears you were talked into.
And then you realize the most astonishing thing: You never really had any. The wall was spiritual. It only stood as long as you believed it was there.
“… and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32
In short
Frequently asked questions about “The Matrix: Romance or Truth?”
What does “Do not be conformed to this world” mean?
In Romans 12:2, Paul calls us not to be shaped by the standards of this world but to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Today that means not letting averages, fears others have talked you into, or a worldview that accepts only what can be measured and weighed become your standard.
What does the Bible say about alcohol and getting drunk?
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit …” (Ephesians 5:18) If you only numb your tension, you throw away an energy that could be transformed. Instead of discharging it, you can take it in and let yourself be filled with the Spirit.
Where do so many fears in young people come from?
Not every fear attributed to us is really ours. If you keep hearing which fears you supposedly have, you start to believe them. The Bible counters this: “… for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
