Let me start with a point of clarification.
This is a journal, not a pulpit. I am a young woman, not a preacher. These words are my own thoughts, not that esteemed and inspired scripture, though I hope I am at least influenced by that scripture in the things I say. I am fallible and ought always to be tested in light of scripture. Nevertheless, I am not giving a sermon, and some of the things I say, being personal opinion, I do not think would even belong in a sermon (though I'm sure there are such careless sermons.) That said, I write, and continue to write, that I may get my thoughts out for consideration and for edification, both for those who read these things and for myself as well, through the responses to these things. As is often the case, I am speaking to my brothers and sisters in Christ -- fellow Christians -- and in this particular case, it is directed at our own dealings with the body -- other Christians. I do think that some of you will enjoy this journal because it seems to be a far less theological or even controversial issue.
I have been thinking a lot, this morning, about something which has been pushed onto me a lot as I get older -- namely, the concept of self-sufficiency. It seems almost contradictory, because at least in American culture, so many children are spoiled, pampered, given an unrealistic perspective on life through a highly institutionalised system of education, and then, usually between the ages of 18 and 20-something, are thrown into the mass of confusion we call the real world and told to figure things out and fend for themselves. This is handled in a variety of ways, often through a few years of expensive college courses that one later discovers he or she never really wanted in the first place, or through jobs ranging from part to full time, monthly rent bills, and a sea of debt often brought by youthful wrecklessness.
Nevertheless, this is the aspiration we're given. It even becomes a part of that "American dream" -- get a good job, have a perfect family with vehicles and cell phones for everyone and a white picket fence with a dog named Spot. All because, you know, YOU made it. You did it. All your own, earned every penny, worked hard, and...
Gah...
I want to be very careful in what I say here, now. Scripture speaks highly of work ethic and I will not at all downplay the need for people in every situation to pull their weight and contribute as much as they are given. The problem, I think, is that we have replaced the true idea of diligence with something that has been vastly inspired by our mixed up, modern culture. Women are being expected to work jobs that were never meant for women to do. Young people are expected to learn through experience rather than from the experienced. People are encouraged to do things which will give them inevitable debt, that they might hope to find a job to eventually pay it, which in my eyes is no different than gambling. (For who can say for sure what tomorrow will bring?)
All of this is the spawn of the "DIY" society. "Be all you can be," and "you" can make a difference, and honestly, it reeks of humanism because the mentality is absolutely depraved of the doctrine of depravity! How easily we forget that we cannot, and thus we must rely on God and upon our fellow believers, which being a body (Christ's beloved bride) must work together and help one another to accomplish her purpose.
My thoughts --
If glory was in self-sufficiency, we would not have tongues to communicate our needs or our assistance to others.
Nor would have God, seeing that it was not good for man to be alone, created woman as a helpmate -- more likely, we would have all been genderless, and our children the fruit of asexual reproduction.
Nor would God create us so uniquely -- some more capable in some areas than others, that we might in our deficiencies see our reliance on each other, and in our strengths be able to serve one another, and in others' weakness love them with patience that comes from Spirit He has granted to His sheep. (Love is patient, kind ...) None of this would be so, but rather, we would all be born with the same capabilities, the same environment, absolutely parallel everything...
Strangely enough, it is as though some believe this last suggestion were so. Greater and greater is the pressure to be what we are not; suddenly we are expected to be simultaneously mathematical, and artistic, and deductive, and economic ...
Here is a personal example, and somewhat the inspiration behind this journal ::
I will confess a certain frustration. I am artistic, and a quick learner, and incredibly efficient at the things I do learn. I can be kind, persuasive, comforting, and many other things which are handy in social (or customer service) type situations. I think of things that few others would -- the sort of "that's so crazy it just might work!" type of things. Yet for some reason, I am also incredibly chaotic. I'm emotional, I am disorganised, forgetful, I am wordy to the point of driving some people mad. I'm told I don't have all my ducks in a row, and the only thing I can think is that I need to find a farmer's market, buy 10 ducks, shoot them all in the head and line their bodies up.
One example and tendancy of mine is to create a piece of art which is pleasing to the eye -- until that eye falls on the desk area where it was made, upon all the fallen paint and spilled water and scattered brushes. Call it "artistic afterbirth" or call it what you will, when I am painting, I cannot cause myself to be concerned with both the product and the paint. I would like to, but the mental mechanic I need just isn't there. The "ducks aren't in a row." But unless you shoot them all (as is the only thing I can possibly think of, right now,) you just can't line up living ducks. They'll line up behind their mother, and that's the only one who can put her ducks in a row, so to speak. I suspect that likewise, the only one who can line up my own ducks is not myself, but my own Creator and Sustainer ... And just as it is with every insufficiency, be it mental, or physical, or chemical, or whatever it may be, the Lord heals only as He sees fit in His will to heal. And simply put, that isn't always so ...
That's my quip. And while many have suggested that this is a flaw, and that I need to be more self-sufficient and just "do" things without thinking about them (think about that!) -- I cannot help but wonder which thing is truly expected of a human being. Is it really that a person is meant to overcome an inability and accomplish that which he is inept to do? ... Or is it more likely that those around him ought to cast off criticism and social comparisons and take up a heart of servitude, bring that person along, and teach and instruct him with enduring love and patience? I think that if we chose the latter, we would see that those who are seemingly inefficient have much more to offer than we see. Vut we will never come to see their Spiritual fruit while we are still too hard of heart and self-righteous to bear any of our own for them.
Another example ... When I am initially introduced to a new concept, I am usually amidst the last to understand it but amidst the first to master it. High school math -- I would go for days sitting through class too ashamed to raise my hand and say, "... I have had no idea what is going on for the past week." Yet because of persistent teaching, one day by no cause of my own, the concept would just click! And when it clicked, I honestly had it down better than some of the most vocal "teacher's pets." (If my only mind were more consistent, I wouldn't have made many of the small mistakes that led to terrible grades in those classes, anyway.) It seems that no matter what I'm doing, I need to be shown the way for the first few steps, be it over a lack of confidence, or an unfamiliar concept, or whatever -- and then I could teach it back to you like I'd known it my entire life. So it is clear to me through experience that a little bit of patience goes a long way, far longer than if we were to simply turn up our noses at one another.
Not that we must give others a means to free-load, I am not suggesting that at all! Or that we are so "gracious" that we neglect our own needs and life (making ourselves useless!) Simply, we must be balanced in these things and as we are instructed, take care of one another as a body. Nor ought we pamper those outside of the body, since their physical needs are met in vain if their spiritual needs are left alone.
But if any of you find yourselves disagreeing or uncertain with what I am saying, and would prefer to say, "But there are SOME things that all people should just be able..." then I have one more thought to add.
Consider your life. The most crucial points of your existence today can be summed up as this -- God thought to create you, your parents concieved you, your mother gave birth to you. Of these three, did you so much as have a say in any? In His omnipotence, I do not think God put much effort into it. I do not think, unless you are a special case, that any effort took place at your conception that was not rather welcomed, ... And as for your mother, well, that involved a lot of effort -- but that's Eve's curse in effect, not life as it ought to be.
Nevertheless, all of these things that came about naturally for others in the course of your existence somehow did not require, need, nor so much as desire your input. The most crucial points of your life relied fully on the actions of others. They were natural, and in some cases even easy for those involved, yet you were absolutely incapable of carrying it out. And had someone -- unless it were God Himself -- told you "just exist!" I do not think you would have been any more capable to obey.
So if the very fact that you are alive came by the choices and efforts and love of others, what should keep you from doing much smaller things for brothers who are lost and incapable on their own? The things which are easy and natural to you may not be so for another, but that pendulum swings both ways, and you have handicaps of your own. The brain would not perceive sight without the eye, nor the eye conceive what it sees without the brain. That we would appreciate this balance, cast away our pride and self-certainty, and look rather with patience, perseverance, and all of the virtues that comprise of Godly love, for we ourselves are only the product of sheer and utter grace.
This is a journal, not a pulpit. I am a young woman, not a preacher. These words are my own thoughts, not that esteemed and inspired scripture, though I hope I am at least influenced by that scripture in the things I say. I am fallible and ought always to be tested in light of scripture. Nevertheless, I am not giving a sermon, and some of the things I say, being personal opinion, I do not think would even belong in a sermon (though I'm sure there are such careless sermons.) That said, I write, and continue to write, that I may get my thoughts out for consideration and for edification, both for those who read these things and for myself as well, through the responses to these things. As is often the case, I am speaking to my brothers and sisters in Christ -- fellow Christians -- and in this particular case, it is directed at our own dealings with the body -- other Christians. I do think that some of you will enjoy this journal because it seems to be a far less theological or even controversial issue.
I have been thinking a lot, this morning, about something which has been pushed onto me a lot as I get older -- namely, the concept of self-sufficiency. It seems almost contradictory, because at least in American culture, so many children are spoiled, pampered, given an unrealistic perspective on life through a highly institutionalised system of education, and then, usually between the ages of 18 and 20-something, are thrown into the mass of confusion we call the real world and told to figure things out and fend for themselves. This is handled in a variety of ways, often through a few years of expensive college courses that one later discovers he or she never really wanted in the first place, or through jobs ranging from part to full time, monthly rent bills, and a sea of debt often brought by youthful wrecklessness.
Nevertheless, this is the aspiration we're given. It even becomes a part of that "American dream" -- get a good job, have a perfect family with vehicles and cell phones for everyone and a white picket fence with a dog named Spot. All because, you know, YOU made it. You did it. All your own, earned every penny, worked hard, and...
Gah...
I want to be very careful in what I say here, now. Scripture speaks highly of work ethic and I will not at all downplay the need for people in every situation to pull their weight and contribute as much as they are given. The problem, I think, is that we have replaced the true idea of diligence with something that has been vastly inspired by our mixed up, modern culture. Women are being expected to work jobs that were never meant for women to do. Young people are expected to learn through experience rather than from the experienced. People are encouraged to do things which will give them inevitable debt, that they might hope to find a job to eventually pay it, which in my eyes is no different than gambling. (For who can say for sure what tomorrow will bring?)
All of this is the spawn of the "DIY" society. "Be all you can be," and "you" can make a difference, and honestly, it reeks of humanism because the mentality is absolutely depraved of the doctrine of depravity! How easily we forget that we cannot, and thus we must rely on God and upon our fellow believers, which being a body (Christ's beloved bride) must work together and help one another to accomplish her purpose.
My thoughts --
If glory was in self-sufficiency, we would not have tongues to communicate our needs or our assistance to others.
Nor would have God, seeing that it was not good for man to be alone, created woman as a helpmate -- more likely, we would have all been genderless, and our children the fruit of asexual reproduction.
Nor would God create us so uniquely -- some more capable in some areas than others, that we might in our deficiencies see our reliance on each other, and in our strengths be able to serve one another, and in others' weakness love them with patience that comes from Spirit He has granted to His sheep. (Love is patient, kind ...) None of this would be so, but rather, we would all be born with the same capabilities, the same environment, absolutely parallel everything...
Strangely enough, it is as though some believe this last suggestion were so. Greater and greater is the pressure to be what we are not; suddenly we are expected to be simultaneously mathematical, and artistic, and deductive, and economic ...
Here is a personal example, and somewhat the inspiration behind this journal ::
I will confess a certain frustration. I am artistic, and a quick learner, and incredibly efficient at the things I do learn. I can be kind, persuasive, comforting, and many other things which are handy in social (or customer service) type situations. I think of things that few others would -- the sort of "that's so crazy it just might work!" type of things. Yet for some reason, I am also incredibly chaotic. I'm emotional, I am disorganised, forgetful, I am wordy to the point of driving some people mad. I'm told I don't have all my ducks in a row, and the only thing I can think is that I need to find a farmer's market, buy 10 ducks, shoot them all in the head and line their bodies up.
One example and tendancy of mine is to create a piece of art which is pleasing to the eye -- until that eye falls on the desk area where it was made, upon all the fallen paint and spilled water and scattered brushes. Call it "artistic afterbirth" or call it what you will, when I am painting, I cannot cause myself to be concerned with both the product and the paint. I would like to, but the mental mechanic I need just isn't there. The "ducks aren't in a row." But unless you shoot them all (as is the only thing I can possibly think of, right now,) you just can't line up living ducks. They'll line up behind their mother, and that's the only one who can put her ducks in a row, so to speak. I suspect that likewise, the only one who can line up my own ducks is not myself, but my own Creator and Sustainer ... And just as it is with every insufficiency, be it mental, or physical, or chemical, or whatever it may be, the Lord heals only as He sees fit in His will to heal. And simply put, that isn't always so ...
That's my quip. And while many have suggested that this is a flaw, and that I need to be more self-sufficient and just "do" things without thinking about them (think about that!) -- I cannot help but wonder which thing is truly expected of a human being. Is it really that a person is meant to overcome an inability and accomplish that which he is inept to do? ... Or is it more likely that those around him ought to cast off criticism and social comparisons and take up a heart of servitude, bring that person along, and teach and instruct him with enduring love and patience? I think that if we chose the latter, we would see that those who are seemingly inefficient have much more to offer than we see. Vut we will never come to see their Spiritual fruit while we are still too hard of heart and self-righteous to bear any of our own for them.
Another example ... When I am initially introduced to a new concept, I am usually amidst the last to understand it but amidst the first to master it. High school math -- I would go for days sitting through class too ashamed to raise my hand and say, "... I have had no idea what is going on for the past week." Yet because of persistent teaching, one day by no cause of my own, the concept would just click! And when it clicked, I honestly had it down better than some of the most vocal "teacher's pets." (If my only mind were more consistent, I wouldn't have made many of the small mistakes that led to terrible grades in those classes, anyway.) It seems that no matter what I'm doing, I need to be shown the way for the first few steps, be it over a lack of confidence, or an unfamiliar concept, or whatever -- and then I could teach it back to you like I'd known it my entire life. So it is clear to me through experience that a little bit of patience goes a long way, far longer than if we were to simply turn up our noses at one another.
Not that we must give others a means to free-load, I am not suggesting that at all! Or that we are so "gracious" that we neglect our own needs and life (making ourselves useless!) Simply, we must be balanced in these things and as we are instructed, take care of one another as a body. Nor ought we pamper those outside of the body, since their physical needs are met in vain if their spiritual needs are left alone.
But if any of you find yourselves disagreeing or uncertain with what I am saying, and would prefer to say, "But there are SOME things that all people should just be able..." then I have one more thought to add.
Consider your life. The most crucial points of your existence today can be summed up as this -- God thought to create you, your parents concieved you, your mother gave birth to you. Of these three, did you so much as have a say in any? In His omnipotence, I do not think God put much effort into it. I do not think, unless you are a special case, that any effort took place at your conception that was not rather welcomed, ... And as for your mother, well, that involved a lot of effort -- but that's Eve's curse in effect, not life as it ought to be.
Nevertheless, all of these things that came about naturally for others in the course of your existence somehow did not require, need, nor so much as desire your input. The most crucial points of your life relied fully on the actions of others. They were natural, and in some cases even easy for those involved, yet you were absolutely incapable of carrying it out. And had someone -- unless it were God Himself -- told you "just exist!" I do not think you would have been any more capable to obey.
So if the very fact that you are alive came by the choices and efforts and love of others, what should keep you from doing much smaller things for brothers who are lost and incapable on their own? The things which are easy and natural to you may not be so for another, but that pendulum swings both ways, and you have handicaps of your own. The brain would not perceive sight without the eye, nor the eye conceive what it sees without the brain. That we would appreciate this balance, cast away our pride and self-certainty, and look rather with patience, perseverance, and all of the virtues that comprise of Godly love, for we ourselves are only the product of sheer and utter grace.
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