The French philosopher Jacques Ellul once compared the Western obsession with “technique” to magic in the Middle Ages. It’s a modern form of superstition that’s all about trying to control what we cannot possibly control.[63] This is where, for those of us with more control-oriented personalities, there’s a latent danger in taking our spiritual formation seriously. The practices of spiritual formation can be perverted into yet another attempt at control—rather than a medium through which we release the illusion of control back to God, and open ourselves to grace. While this truth will likely
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