Fracture mechanics is the science of studying sudden-failure phenomenon. Materials have a yield strength (the stress under which they will yield) but in many cases materials fail at applied stresses below their yield strength. We Christians have also a spiritual yield strength—a spiritual potential–but in many cases fail to reach that potential because we fail at spiritual levels way below what we are capable of. The Bible is full of such examples, such as: the sin of King David with Bathsheba; King Saul; and of course Samson.
Why do structures fail at applied stresses lower than the known yield strength of their material? That’s because all structures contain small flaws (cracks) determined by their material and processing. We, Christians, all have small flaws determined by two things. First, our natural spiritual strengths and weakness. It is a fact that some people are naturally servants, or preachers, etc; and others naturally feel weaker towards alcohol, or pornography. Second, our response to God’s work in our lives (the process of the Christian life). Some people feel bitter when their love is rejected, while others pray for the one who rejected them. Some grow up being bad parents because they never had good parents, others become good parents and make sure their children won’t go through what they went through.
Fracture Mechanics by Fadi
“…every structure contains small flaws whose size and distribution are dependent upon the material and its processing.â€Â – Dolan
It is important here to remember that ALL of us have flaws, may be small flaws may be big ones but we all have them. Anyone who thinks he is spiritually complete is deceived. We should never underestimate our capacity to sin. I once read on the Internet a conversation between two Christian men:
First man: I will never be tempted with a sexual sin.
Second man: WOW! So you are godlier than David, wiser than Solomon, and stronger than Samson!
There are two interesting facts about cracks in materials:
First, it is the flaws that are on the surface that will cause the failure—not the interior ones. Same principle applies to us as Christians. Let’s say you are angry with someone on the inside, but it won’t be a problem if you deal with the temptation. It is only a problem when you lose your self-control and express that anger towards the person. Or if you are being sexually tempted toward someone, again, it won’t be a problem if you deal with the temptation. It is only a problem if you act upon your lust. We all have weaknesses on the inside, but through prayer, self-control and accountability we can prevent them from surfacing and damaging our lives and witness.
Second, the effectiveness of the damage that flaws causes, depends on the loading of the structure. Imagine you have a pen in your hand and you are bending it downward into the shape of an arc. If the crack is on the top edge of the pen (the crack being stretched open) then it will accelerate the pen’s failure. If the crack is on the bottom edge of the pen (the crack is being pressed together) then it will make little to no difference. So even if the crack exists, and as we saw we all have flaws, it will only cause a damage to your spiritual life if your actions put you in a situation where you are tempted. For example, if you have a natural weakness toward alcohol addiction and you go to the bar then it will be very likely you will end up drinking and getting drunk. So we should not be dismayed just because we all have flaws. We should not throw our hands up in the air and say, “Ok then since I have flaws I might as well go along with my weaknesses!†No, depending on how you live, how you load your spiritual life, you can be victorious or defeated.
So what do cracks really do? They act as stress concentrations. And that’s what our spiritual weaknesses do to us: they act as footholds for Satan to gain ground in our spiritual lives to defeat us. When the stress reaches a certain level, the crack will propagate suddenly to failure. The velocities of some crack propagation reach as high as 1 mile/sec! So don’t be deceived playing around sin by lingering on temptation, thinking, “Hmmm…just this once. I think I can handle the situation.†Doesn’t this remind us of King David? When you read his story it is like three parts:
First part is long: obedience–rewarding/full of God’s blessings,
Second part is very short: disobedience/sin,
Third part is long: consequences of sin–full of personal disasters.
What are your spiritual flaws? Are they natural or did you acquire them through your life journey? Did you let God process you to deal with them? If not, what are they costing you?
One thought on “Fracture Mechanics and How it Relates to Our Sinful Nature”
Very good insight into Fracture Mechanics, love how you can see God and his principles for life working in the physical laws he created, keep up the good work in school, happy that god is being revealed in your life 🙂