The Truth about the Red Pill and Renewing Your Mind

My all-time favorite movie is The Matrix. One of the most iconic scenes is where Neo is faced with a critical decision:

Morpheus : This is your  last chance. After this, there is no turning back.....You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up and believe...whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill.....you stay in wonderland...and I show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Neo pauses for an instant, then reaches for the red pill.

Morpheus : Remember...all I'm offering you is the truth : nothing more.

He swallows it down with a glass of water, and looks at Morpheus.

There is a lot written about what it means to be a red pill person. Researching this yielded many and disparate points of view all eager to claim the moniker of being red pill people and opposing points of view being tagged as blue pill people. One very vocal group of atheists assigns religious people as being “blue pill” people along the lines of the famous Karl Marx quote that “religion is the opiate of the masses”. However I have a different perspective that I would like to offer up.

The Matrix is a Metaphor for the Temporal and Spiritual Realms

Whether intended or not the entire movie is a metaphor. The matrix is the temporal world we live in just as it was for the inhabitants of the matrix whereas the real-world including Zion and its warriors and defenders is the real existence where all humans were meant to live. The matrix was an interactive prison for the mind that trapped people in an alternate reality that felt more real to them than the real world and even in some cases like Cypher seemed more desirable than the real world. The purpose of the Matrix was to blind the humans who were physically imprisoned by the machines while they literally were draining their life force to supply the power they needed to survive. They also were able to at times in the matrix to take control of any human body that was still “plugged in” and become an agent of evil.

For us it is much the same. We have this world that we exist in that by every account is real. However, we also know that it is temporary and that there is a much greater reality that is eternal and in this reality just like in the movie there is a war going on as indicated by Revelation 12:7-17

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,      

“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.

And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus

 In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul admonishes us to put on the full armor of God:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

War is Upon Us Whether We Believe It or Not 

This is a call to arms for Christians to get in the fight and be properly prepared for that fight. Like Morpheus and the other humans in the movie, war was and is a reality. You can choose to be oblivious or you can fight but regardless of the decision each person makes, the reality of the war remains. So like it or not if you are a child of God who keeps his commandments and holds to the testimony of Jesus, war is being waged against you! You can remain blissfully ignorant of this fact like those who remained “plugged in” to the matrix or even in some cases make a conscious decision to ignore the reality of the spiritual war that is being waged against you much like Cypher chose to do:

We Too Allow the Matrix to Control our Thoughts Actions and Behaviors

How many Christians make the same choice that Cypher made to choose the happy illusion over the harsh reality? I have been a part of the church my entire life and the vast majority of Christians I have personally encountered were preoccupied with the things of this world to the exclusion of spiritual things. In America, most people including the vast majority of Christians are preoccupied with the American dream. Much like in the Matrix there were expectations and rules that Neo had to obey as both his boss and later Smith explained to him and there were dire consequences for violating these “cultural expectations”.

The same is true for us in 21st century America and in most churches, there is a “life script” that must be adhered to. The script that I was given to follow went something like this:

1)      You must attend a Christian college

2)      You must continue attending church and stay plugged in (and yes they do actually use those words)

3)      Before graduating you must meet and court your future spouse getting married soon after graduation.

4)      You must graduate and get a good job that allows you to

a.       Live in an acceptable neighborhood

b.      Drive an acceptable car

c.       Wear the right kind of clothes purchased from approved stores with acceptable labels on them

d.      Consume the right kind of entertainment

5) Get plugged into a church and begin climbing the social ladder there taking special care to pay proper homage to the established “cool kids” at the top of the church’s social ladder.

6)      Have kids at the “appropriate time” but not too many and then have them repeat the cycle.

As a young man I felt intense pressure to follow this script from virtually everywhere I turned. Not only family but elders, ministers, friends and even a large segment of popular culture during that time all seemed to be trying to control me and force me to adhere to the approved “life script”. Throughout time the script may change a bit. but the fact is that there has always been intense pressure on God’s people to conform to the culture in which they lived. 

Freedom Through Death

The journey that led to Neo’s transformation and the freeing of his mind culminating in his super man like powers began when he first decided to take the red pill. That act allowed him to break free. In biblical terms he became dead to that world so much so that the machines discarded him and then flushed him into the sewer.

If we are to free ourselves from the peer pressure that the world (including unfortunately many within the church) would place upon you to conform to their rules and regulations of how you must live your life, then you too must die to this world and in doing so break free of their ability to control your mind and your behavior. In Romans 6:5-7 Paul explains how we are freed from sin by death.

“For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin”

So, when we unplug or die to sin then it no longer has the ability to enslave us just like Neo was no longer enslaved to the machines.

Romans 6:11-14

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Free From Cultural Authority and Peer Pressure

When Neo awoke he had a new set of priorities and a new mission and he then took orders from Morpheus and the council of Zion. So we too when we die to sin and to the world we are also choosing to submit to God to become his instruments and like Neo allow ourselves to be used as a weapon to fight the ultimate battle between good and evil.

Colossians 2: 20-23

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

We also need to be careful not to allow ourselves to submit to fleshly and carnal rules to which we have already died because the world will try to impose its rules on us such as political correctness which is a blatant and obvious attempt to control the minds of everyone and force them to bend to the will of the people who get to define what is and what isn’t politically correct. We have to understand that we no longer answer to these self-appointed cultural authorities but answer rather to Christ.

For us just as it was for Neo the truth is not all unicorns and rainbows. Living the life that Jesus calls us to is a very difficult and often lonely one:

Then Jesus said to His disciples,

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 

Matthew 16:24-26

Ignorance is bliss?

Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious.

he sighs

Cypher: After nine years, you know what I realize?

Cypher puts the bit of steak into his mouth, and sighs, as he chews it with his eyes closed.

Cypher: Ignorance is bliss.

Cypher told agent Smith he wanted to be rich and famous after they plugged his body back into the matrix. Given the way most Christians live our lives and follow some variation of the approved “life script”, it seems that we like Cypher are chasing after something that is just as worthless and ridiculous as what he was seeking. Again in Matthew 10 34-39 Jesus is telling his disciples:

  “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.

      “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

Again, here it is clear. Jesus is issuing a call to arms. He came to wage war. He isn’t playing around and he requires that his disciples take the battle as seriously as he does. One phrase he uses that catches my attention “He who has found his life will lose it”. So you mean if I follow the script and I succeed and manage to climb to the top of the social ladder and arrive, that after all of that I will lose my life? I think the answer is a resounding yes. In the Matthew 16 passage Jesus says:

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

What would it have profited Cypher if he had been made supreme ruler of the Matrix? In reality, he would have been plugged in while the machines drained his life force out to supply the power they needed. The rest is just an illusion.  How can we not see likewise how utterly meaningless it is for God's children to get caught up in our status here in this world? 

Transformation Through Renewal of our Minds

Jesus calls us to “lose our life for his sake” to take up our cross and get in the fight. He is asking us to give up the illusion for the real. The good news is that in doing so he promises that we will “find” our life.  For me this means more than a physical life but our passion our purpose and our true belonging in his kingdom.

There is a reason why Christendom has in many ways become almost indistinguishable from the world in virtually every category that we measure include divorce rate, teen pregnancy, addictions etc. It’s because most Christians have taken the blue pill. We have been deceived and many have unwittingly much like the people in the movie become agents of the very system that is at war with Christ’s kingdom. It is time to wake up from this dream world. Take the red pill, unplug yourself die to this world and free your mind.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

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