"Be Water" vs "Living Water"
I have to give partial credit to my brother and my dad on this post. That’s because my brother forwarded an article (Kyler Murray & Bruce Lee) to my dad and me the other day. While the article was interesting on a human level, I kind of dumped on it and referred to it is “MI” which is an abbreviation for “misplaced intimacy” in our family lingo. That’s a story for another day. Since identity was a big theme of the article and is very important in all of our lives, I thought it would be a good thing to discuss. For purposes of this post “MI” will represent “mistaken identity.”
One reason I was so critical of the article was because Bruce Lee’s “Be Water” philosophy, along with a lot of the Zen Buddhism he drew from, directly contradicts Christ’s teachings. When we look at what the Bible says about “Living Water” the contrast is quite clear. I had heard Kyler Murray was a professing Christian, so it struck me as odd that he would contribute to an ESPN feature piece where he gives all credit to his philosophy on life to his self-professed idol, Bruce Lee. I’m not trying to pick on Kyler Murray specifically here, because he is certainly not unique in blending different philosophies and teachings to form one’s “own identity”. However, I would like to use this example of “MI” to highlight something that is prevalent in our world and even the church, namely the worship of self over the worship of God.
If you take some time to look into the concepts being like water or emptying your mind, which are staples of Zen Buddhist teachings, it doesn’t sound all that bad. To a Christian, however, these phrases should be red flags. Since Jesus is the source of living water (Read John 4:7-26), claiming to “be water” would be worshiping ourselves as false gods. Here are a few excerpts from that Bible passage:
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4: 13-14)
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)
Likewise, the concept of emptying one’s mind directly contradicts God’s call for us to fill our minds with good things. Please note this call in the following verses. You will also see the fact that God is the source of our peace, NOT a self-worshiping empty mind!
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9)
When referencing the Holy Spirit that is to come after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, He says the following:
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:35-37)
It’s easy to fall into nice-sounding humanistic religions and philosophies. After all, many of them take God’s principles and present them with subtle differences in attractive ways. It’s not a mistake that we are drawn to them. However, if God’s truth is distorted even a little, it becomes false. Therefore, as attractive as certain sayings or concepts may seem, we need to make sure it is actually God in them that is drawing us to them and not some cheap knock-off of God meant to elevate others or ourselves above God. That’s where we fall into our mistaken identities. Here are some helpful verses when it comes to not following the ways of the world, renewing our minds, and discerning God’s will:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 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 12:1-2)
In conclusion, as cool as Bruce Lee’s kung-fu may be and as zen as “be water” may sound, Living Water is still our best bet! As Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4:13, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.” Imagine being the water and still remaining thirsty! If that isn’t a perfect picture of the futility of self-worship and looking within ourselves for all the answers instead of to God, then I don’t know what is! So, what’s it going to be for you? Do you want to “be water” or seek the “living water”?