Profiling, though it has many new names, is still a hot topic today. Many of our legislators have moved to make it illegal. I’m sure there are times in which profiling is the harmful result of bigotry, but like many practices that are as old as time and now labeled politically incorrect, categorization can help us to put things in perspective. For instance, according to 1 Corinthians 2-3, the whole human race can be divided into three categories:
The Natural Man is described as an individual who cannot understand the things of God. To suggest to him that life consists of a spiritual element along with the obvious physical, is utter foolishness to him. He believes that God, if there is a God, does not play a significant role in his day to day existence. His godless life will result in a godless eternity.
The Spiritual Man is just the opposite. In addition to his physical existence, he sees himself as a spiritual being. He has embraced God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, who came down to earth to reconcile natural man to his supernatural God. This spiritual man is, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, able to comprehend and affirm those things that the natural man does not see or perceive. How does the natural man graduate into the realm of the spiritual? Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
But there is a third category mentioned, the Carnal Man. This man has discovered the life changing truth; his eyes have been opened to the things of God, but he has little regard for their significance. He is so overwhelmed with the pleasures of earthly treasures, so busy with earthly responsibilities, so enamored with the wisdom and ways of the world, that he has no time for the eternal. In both realms (physical and spiritual), he is a hypocrite.
This type of profiling might help you discover the benefits of knowing God personally. Start by answering this question, In which category are you?