At times I wonder what the hell’s wrong with the world. Evil? Yes. But what is evil? We all have our presuppositions. They all vary, and of course, like every other issue, we’re all “right” and those who disagree are “wrong”.
Truth be told, we’re broken people, fallen people, confused people, people seeking some answer to the questions filling our heads. We’re all on a journey. We all have a destination and only God knows where it all ends. We fear our brokenness. We fear vulnerability, so we hide our inner imperfections.
‘How are you?’ we say. ‘Fine’ or ‘good’, the reply. Why not say, ‘I’m having a shitty day. I worked longer than I wanted, my girlfriend and I had an argument, and I just want to sit down with a cold bourbon, some John Lee Hooker on the stereo and forget everything but the moment I’m living in.’
How hard is that? How hard is it for us to be honest, to be vulnerable? That, God knows, is just the tip of an iceberg that leads to loneliness, suicide, rejection, fear, racism, sexism, the death of Matthew Shepard, 9-11, Abu Ghraib, Darfur, DR Congo… the list goes on.
Is there a solution? Sure, but I haven’t quite figured it all out. I work in the business of solutions. I work in the business of explaining all the chaos we face. I work in the church.
Still, I question and debate. I doubt and I wonder where God is or isn’t at work in a confusing, broken, and hurting world. Is there a hand in everything or were our fore-fathers right? Did God make the world and take a hands-off approach? Short answer, in my truly unprofessional opinion, yes and no. God doesn’t create poverty. We do. God doesn’t punish “lost souls” with Katrina, or earthquakes, or war. If anything we punish ourselves by making God (or Satan) the scapegoat for both our evils and for the chaotic, natural events of our world.
What do I know? Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong. Only truth I can take solace in is the truth that God knows. And for that reason, I needn’t fear honesty, vulnerability, and reconciliation. For in these things is love. And if there’s anything I do believe, it’s that God is love.
PS - thanks to Eric for the inspiration.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
damn, chris, what an enlightening perspective.
vulnerability is difficult, but -- this might seem counterintuitive -- i believe it's where we find our power.
i could name a million instances where eschewing control made me a better person and improved my life.
in the tao te ching, it says "to increase your influence, increase the influence of others." i'm operating stream of conscious, but i think that applies.
or, maybe this makes more sense along those lines. as christians, what do we view as the greatest act of vulnerability? and wasn't the person who performed that act of passive power the one who eventually defeated the very empire that killed him?
one other thing ... i would say that in your position, you're not necessarily in the business of solutions. you're in the business of helping people find themselves. of helping them find empowerment through giving up their power.
you must keep up with tyour project here, my man. i'll be a loyal disciple. ;)
e+
Great points as always, Eric. I probably should change that comment about the business of solutions, however, at times it seems that that's the expection others have on those in the ministry. I tell my youth often that I'll probably have them asking more questions than I will give them concrete answers. That's why it's called faith, I guess. If I can give one 'definite' answer in my life I'll be lucky. So much of how we experience the divine is from our personal experience.
About the best I could ever hope to do is point others in the direction of some sort of peace of mind and acceptance of their circumstances. For me that acceptance comes through recognition of both our own brokenness and the healing of those fractures that we find in Christ. On the other hand it's a very difficult thing for me to fully embrace myself.
I guess that's how it goes with the influence quote, which I really like by the way.
Interesting paradox, finding our power in our weakness. It's something I ponder quite a bit.
i often say things like: i feel like shit, my hip hurts like a bitch and i can't afford to go to the dentist, but at least i'm not in pakistan or new orleans looking for the bodies of relatives, or wondering if they're still alive, so on balance, i actually feel pretty good.
it's the comparison at the end that usually gets a laugh. i'm sure that without that, i'd be the guy nobody wants to sit next to on the bus.
contrast is everything for me. as someone who has recently started speaking to god again after almost 11 years of atheism, it's interesting for me to come here and read stuff by someone who works 'in the job'
good job, chris. keep it up.
i think the only definite thing that i could tell anyone if i were in a position such as yours is that god loves you.
a lot of things follow from that.
people might debate whether that's true, but, to me, it's really easy to prove, really.
e+
Eric summed it up perfectly...
Wherever I see good in the world. Wherever I see love. There's God.
Wherever I see death in the world. Wherver I see fear. There's chaos.
I believe God works through all things for the ordering of chaos.
Many people, at times in life myself, tend to blame God for the problems of the world. I think that's a cop out. I don't think God causes earthquakes, but I do know that God demonstrates to us how to love in the midst of chaos. In the end that's the only response that matters.
Despite being 'in the job' it's a lesson I have to re-teach myself every day.
Post a Comment