Some men in recovery are intellectuals, and can sometimes be intellectual bullies to their wives and others. the spirit of intellectualization often gets in the way of their recovery. Their strength becomes their weakness as so often happens.
I have noticed in my life that when I enter into the spirit of intellectualization I can become particularly cruel and not even know it.
For me, this spirit is intellectual masturbation – it is all about hearing myself speak and getting myself understood by others – not about who I am speaking to. I have come to believe that when the sacred writings speak of the “carnal mind” that certainly one aspect of this is the intellectualized mind….and it is very distinct from speaking with the spirit – even when speaking of spiritual things. Recognizing and surrendering this spirit of intellectualization – which is often self-justifying and promoting and not God-justifying and promoting in its tone – is a great step toward recovery.
