Thomas Keating's concept of the "homemade self" points to a flaw that underlies the challenge presented by all three scripture readings for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation, Fr. Keating describes the development of the "home-made self." (Most often called the "false self.") When we are little we mature in an environment that is somewhat hostile - in spite of the best efforts of our parents. We develop coping mechanisms that provide us with happiness and satisfy three energy centers or needs:
- Safety and Security
- Esteem and Affection
- Power and Control
We develop a set of routines and behaviors that satisfy these needs. Keating calls these routines "Programs for Happiness." One might, for example, think that gathering all the information and developing a good plan will insure safety and control needs. As long as this works, it is fine and one might see one's self as a successful planner. A problem arises when one cannot get enough information or the situation is rapidly changing. One possible response is to obsessively seek more information, losing sight of responsibilities in many other areas of one's life. Many kinds of self destructive behaviors can follow in an attempt to compensate. This obsessive seeking of information is part of the "home-made self." Through this process a legitimate attempt to meed basic needs evolves in to a set of character defects.
If we can detach from our defects, turning them over to the care of God, we will find that our whole selves are much larger and more capable of achieving happiness. The energy that was part of the homemade self will still be present, but can be more productive.
So we can ask: Is Pall being too harsh when he urges the Colossians to "Put to death the parts of you that are earthly..." If the "homemade self" has parts of it that are destructive or even self defeating, I think not. We need to recognize that the "home-made self" can lead us to a number of disordered attachment - work, possessions, control, money, etc. There is hope. After putting that part of the homemade self to death we can "...put on the new self, which is being renewed ... in the image of its creator." The new self - the God-made self - will contain all of the strengths of the homemade self, plus hidden strengths and the freedom to use them.
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