Nothing Dreadful Ever Happens

I have slept through most of this week with little purpose or plan since I have had the week off (terrible I know). But I have come to ponder about the subject of living out a gospel-filled life focused on compassion  (when not completely wasting my educated mind). It is a topic that is similiar to what my church has been focusing on in a series and I think it is worth struggling through to understand. What I have composed here is an updated and modified version of an essay I spontaneously wrote many years ago (maybe like 3?). The purpose behind what was written was to show that in understanding the struggles of those in this world, a deeper understanding of the gospel is found full of love, compassion, and sacrifice. This post is essentially the clip show episode of any sitcom (where old material is used to suppliment an entire episode) despite how lame that generally is, I promise this will be less lame:

As I drove home tonight I was able to see heat lightning in the distance from the clouds above. It was interesting to me to think how similar the flashes of light from cloud to cloud could be mistaken for far away bombs and gunfire going off. I know that is a little bit of a stretch, but sometimes I like to think of my life as interesting or at the very least a struggle (despite how much I don’t). It is that lack of struggle in my life that I began reflecting on as I continued to drive. I am not referring to a lack of internal struggle or necessarily any struggle, of that I have. I am referring to a struggle most in this and many industrialized countries will rarely ever see. Poverty and strife has its place in society and despite the best efforts, will most likely persist long into the future; it is sadly a condition necessary. But for the vast majority of the people in the world, the populous that has a voice, has a choice, and has the ability to see those who are struggling and say enough is enough and act, most would rather sit by and numbly ignore them. I am reminded of a lyric I am fond of, “They are sick, they are poor, and they die by the thousands, and we look away…cause we don’t have the time, here at the top of the world”. It is this mindset that I abhor and as a human and Christian look upon with utter frustration (though I participate in frequently).

Now, this all started about a thought about distant heat lighting and an overactive imagination about bombs and war. Where does struggle come into its place? Don’t worry we will get there. As a Christian it is difficult to see the state of the world and the state of the people in it. Granted I don’t want to see wealth and riches brought to the masses who are invisible, starving, and dying. I want to see love, peace, and life instilled instead. Yet, I look at the church in this country and compare it with stories from those in other countries, like Iraq and China. These countries are not known for their benevolence or their charity. More specifically they have very little love for Christians and their practices. Yet, despite being persecuted, killed, and generally not treated well, I see the juxtaposition of the American church by comparison which is enamored with wealth, safety, and a voice in politics, if that isn’t a crazy idea. Instead of being persecuted by their government because of their faith, Christians in the U.S. actually have a partial hand the government. I have one thing to say about this seemingly obvious gap between American churches and struggle-torn ones, which one works? Which one is God with us? Paul makes it very clear in his epistles the promise of struggle in a Christian’s life, yet the fire of struggle that fuels so many Christians around the world, is wholly absent in this country. In fact most go out of their way to avoid struggle or in any way feeling uncomfortable in living out the gospel and loving those around them. Where a general feeling of Malaise should arise in these situations there is only a shrug of apathy. Are we truly that unloving and cold as a body of believers?

 I am a Christian because I follow Christ; I am not a Christian because I follow the church. At this moment I would be saddened to be following the state of the church in this country. Granted again, that is a huge generalization, and there are many God loving and God honoring churches in this country, however, they are not the ones with a voice or the power, as it should be. So, struggle? Where is it? That is my question, and my point. It is my belief that struggle is a necessary requirement for Christians to flourish. To me suffering and struggle create perseverance and perseverance creates a strong faith and trust in God. Those with the least generally seem the happiest with what they have (and not surprising tends to struggle the most). Without the first part of the equation we as a church fail to live compassionate lives that include sacrifice, rather it’s easier without understanding struggle to just take care of our own.  Unfortunately it is a quality that is apparent in the modern, consumerized, money hungry, and society of saturation we live in. Yes, Americans struggle, on September 11 2001 Americans struggled, when an employee loses his job and ends up homeless and falls through society’s cracks, Americans struggle. But as a society that pales in comparison to struggle around the world on a day to day basis. What would happen if your life became more like a Chinese Christian? Would your faith grow or fall away? I would hope Job is an example in that situation. The desert brothers and the martyrs of the early church set the example. Don’t be apart of the world, and if necessary stand up and take the lashing for Christ’s gift. Faith has an infinite ceiling when mixed with oppression and strife. You want to see the American church follow Christ more deeply? Watch what would happen if bible studies were illegal, gathering in worship would be illegal, if proclaiming one was a Christian meant jail time. If those things were true you would roughly have the conditions many brothers and sisters in Christ experience on a regular basis around the world. I am not saying we should push for an oppressive dictatorship so we as Christians can have it like the good ole days, I am saying this: struggle. Make life less comfortable. Don’t quest for what will make life easier, struggle to find what will challenge it. We are not supposed to be playing by the world’s rules in the first place, so let go of them. If we can’t be in struggling conditions, bring them to you. I am not saying live on the streets, become an anarchist, or become a religious extremist, but call the status quo into question. Ask not what you can do for the world, but what God can use you to do in it, regardless of the consequences.

(Easier said than done I'm afraid).

Growing Up: What we leave behind

I have been thinking a lot about the future lately, the future that might be, and the future that could have been. For me the future includes pictures of family and friends, but also my career. I feel like also to many, the future includes a heavy emphasis on a job or "career" as the cornerstone to their desires and hopes (I mean going to college means you get the job of your dreams right?). It is interesting how that despite how incredibly vocationally focused our culture is (people are known for their jobs rather than who they are as people), we spend so little time thinking about the importance of selecting it. I tend to wonder about the dreams we had as kids and what happened to them? At what we imagined we could be before we were taught that dreams are foolish and told we are limited to our perceived skills rather than our potential.
Growing up I wanted to be a fireman, a marine biologist, and my personal favorite an egyptologist (all before the age of 10 no less). I also always wanted to be a toy-r-us kid forever. But what did you want to be when you grew up? Now what do you want to be now? (I ended up becoming a counselor so go figure). However, is the better question here what do you wish you could do now? Is there a difference or incongruency still between the two? Certainly. But all too often I feel that people get "stuck" in a career and end up looking back and wishing things were in a different place as if the pieces in the puzzle got put in the wrong order. This does not necessarily mean people can't happenstance into a job they would have never wanted for themselves and end up loving it despite its lack of initial appeal because that happens and can be a great blessing. However, at what point does having a more "realistic" trajectory become more important than doing something your heart loves (this is always the conflict in plotlines involving parents and their art major college students). I've heard too many students who take a major career path because of the perceived outcome later (high paying job) and have no heart in what they do beyond the paycheck or the ease in getting a job. (Can you blame them though? America(ns) loves their money and prestige).  But I feel like more and more there are those walking around that look back and think of the job they really would have loved to do, but didn't because it wasn't practical or not high paying enough... (this is not to say the economy always works the way you would like it to when you make leap of faith in a career-path, which makes job selections incredibly complicated at times, but sometimes...it isn't). I agree that money is important, but it is only a means to an end and not an end itself. So while you shouldn't turn down a job or go after a career that has a high payday, that shouldn't be the lone driving force either. If you could have any job in the world, regardless of pay, location, or education, what would it be? Is it a high paying job?

"When you grow up, your heart dies" says the sad and unhopeful voice of allie sheedy in the breakfast club. This has been a phrase that has replayed in my head as I have grown up and even now. I thought for so long this was true, and inevitable, you get older and the things you thought were important when you younger disappear and are considered unimportant. I think in a lot of ways this is true for many, you graduate college or find a job, and you no longer have the time or brainspace for thinking about "childish" things, life tends to make sure of that. That makes me sad to think about. In the end I think sorting out a career or a job can really be benefited with a little imagination and creativity that our hearts used to contain, which is ironic given those ideals are the first thing that goes out the window in the "real" world. I remember being anxious for months before graduating high school in figuring out the trajectory of my WHOLE life (being dramatic is part of being a teenager right?). I felt capable in taking multiple career paths, but couldn't decide which one was "me", not which one would make me the richest or which one would be the easiest to swallow, but which one would make the me inside happy (that's the real trick isn't it though?). I ended up deciding on one that I could not just live with, but that would fulfill me, and continue to challenge me with the skills I had and since then I haven't looked back or regretted a single moment (God really blessed me here, and these results are not guaranteed, selecting a career is a process).

The job you may love may not be the job that comes to mind first or second, or fiftith and the skills you have may not be immediately applicable to a job you are aware of, but I think looking inside at the kid you left behind year ago might serve you well in that quest, after all the world could use a little more childish fearlessness and hope and not just in the area of vocation, but all across the board in our lives.