We Must Defend Against Ourselves

Martin Luther said, “We need to hear the Gospel every day, because we forget it every day.” These are profound words of wisdom. It is the nature of human beings to forget things. How often have you walked into a room confident of your purpose, only to look around and ask yourself why you came here in the first place? The apostle James takes Luther’s wisdom one step further when he warns us that we don’t just need to hear it but live it out (and of course, Martin Luther agrees with James). If we only hear the gospel or the word and do not live out the words we hear, we are like a man who “looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like” (James 1:24). Only by doing the words we hear, only by living the gospel out, will it stick with us in life. Yet, we do so imperfectly. We sin and fall again and again into the same errors. Thus, we must preach the good news to ourselves and be reminded that “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). Boethius, I argue, does something in the Consolation of Philosophy, though he is not focusing on sin and repentance, but suffering and happiness. We do forget the gospel every day, but we also forget what makes us happy every day. As we suffer the loss of earthly goods, we forget what happiness looks like and must be reminded. We have forgotten what we look like when we are looking to God as the source of all joy. The Consolation of Philosophy, then, is Boethius’ invitation to us that as we suffer, we must give a defense to ourselves about what makes us truly happy, the blessed life with the everlasting God.

Many passages illustrate this point, but for this short column, I will focus on two sections in Book II, Prose IV and V. Book II begins Philosophy’s long argument that true happiness is found only in God. In order to get Boethius to realize this, Philosophy first illustrates why what we normally consider to be the source of happiness cannot be so. In Prose IV, Boethius begins by complaining that “the unhappiest misfortune is to have known a happy fortune.” In other words, it would have been better to never have known good fortune than to have it and then lose it. This is often how we feel when life’s circumstances turn, and we are left suddenly without the things in our lives which we loved most. But here, Boethius reminds himself (through Philosophy) that this line of thinking is mistaken. Though his fortune is at the moment full of sorrow, not all he has is evil. Those things which matter most are still in his possession: his upbringing, his wife, and his sons all remain and love him dearly. But before you dismiss this as an ancient “it’s not so bad,” Lady Philosophy has a greater point in mind. She is driving him to see that there is nothing in this life, gained by fortune, good or bad, which can bring lasting happiness: “If happiness is the highest good of a man who lives his life by reason, and if that which can by any means be snatched away, is not the highest good (since that which is best cannot be snatched away), it is plain that Fortune by its own uncertainty can never come near to reaching happiness.” The reason we should appreciate life’s good fortune without resting in it is precisely because it is fleeting and changing. That life changes does not make the evil we experience not bad, nor does it mean the good we experience is not good. It simply means they are not designed to be lasting, so looking for contentment in fortune is a fool’s errand. We are made in God's image. We are made to place our worth in our Creator. Yet, we, by seeking things which have no understanding in or of themselves, place ourselves underneath them. And we should know better. Share on X

So then what is the solution? Lady Philosophy’s answer comes in the form of a continued rebuke. In Prose V, she questions the value of wealth, possessions, and external beauty, in which Boethius has placed so much worth. These things do have value, but only when seen in their proper order. These are material, earthly things, but mankind was made for higher things. We have reason, a mind, that can set itself above the material world. Yet, we tend to settle for lesser goods. She says, “Men, though made like God in understanding, seek to find among the lowest adornment for their higher nature: and you do not understand that you do a great wrong thereby to your Creator. He intended that the human race should be above all other earthly beings; yet you thrust down your honourable place below the lowest.” This is an astonishing rebuke and one that should land hard against all Christians. We are made like God in understanding. We are made to place our worth in the Creator, in whose image we are made. Yet, we, by seeking things which have no understanding in or of themselves, place ourselves underneath them. And we should know better. She is demonstrating this through reasoned argument, not assertions. This is something every reader can follow. Therefore, we have no excuse. “To other animals,” Lady Philosophy says, “ignorance of themselves is natural; in men it is a fault.” It is a defect in man that we seek happiness in lesser, changeable things instead of the unchanging source of our reason, our Creator. Though Boethius does not quote Scripture here, this is deeply in line with the Biblical message. Boethius is clearly alluding to Genesis 1:26-27, that we are made in the image of God. As such, we are to give ourselves unto God, whose image we bear (Matthew 22:11), by loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). St Paul tells us the same thing, when he reminds us that if we have been raised with Christ, then we are to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). Our old self lived a life indulging on the things of the flesh, yet we who are in Christ, must place our thoughts, and therefore our hope and happiness, on the one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Happiness, real happiness, indeed does not fade and cannot be snatched away. That is what we are made for, and that is why our God gives us Himself. Share on X

There is no happiness in fleeting pleasures. We are commanded to seek happiness where it is truly found: in our everlasting, never-changing Creator. As Lady Philsophy  says, “that which is best cannot be snatched away.” And what is promised to us by our Lord Jesus? “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Happiness, real happiness, indeed does not fade and cannot be snatched away. That is what we are made for, and that is why our God gives us Himself. We, who have placed our trust in the living God, are given eternal life which does not perish because we are in the hands of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is what we need to remind ourselves of when life is not what we wished it would be. We must defend ourselves against our own weak minds by contemplating with Boethius the eternal happiness found in our unchanging God. It is only when we set our minds on the things above that we will find true, everlasting happiness. Therefore, let us remind ourselves of what everlasting happiness is to come: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). 

Glory be to God the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and evermore shall be. World without end. Amen.

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