Losing the Story

One of the criticisms that seems to always surface about the Bible is that it's a contrived story. There is a lot that underlies the criticism, but one of the things that is usually tied with it is the idea that because it was written with a purpose (or a bias), that it can't be trusted.

Obviously, this is a simplistic reading of the criticism, but it works for now.

It reminded me of one of the quotes from Steve Jobs' Commencement Address to Stanford University in 2005 (the full text may be found here.)

“Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

I'm not advocating Jobs' read on purpose. What I want to bring out is this idea that we all create our own stories. We all connect the dots in our life to show that there had to be some reason for this or for that – it's how most of us try to come to grips with a universe that we don't control. It's how most of us try to define our universe in terms that it might very well be working toward the end of our own beneficence.

But what do we do in a world where there is no editorial management of what is known and what is unknown? How do you connect the dots of “Eating right now.” “Studying right now.” “Walking outside.” etc.? If it's not clear, let me make it so: in a world where relationships are defined, upheld, and propelled by status updates, circles, and tweets, how to we form a cogent story about our lives?

The dilemma probably revolves around the idea that the ideal is a personal story. The Bible is not about your personal story, however. And so a Christian might be placed even more at odds with a culture that places the context of story in an electronic and impersonal environment, an insular space where your story is cultivated by stream of consciousness, selfish ramblings, and arguments that do little to convince.

The Bible is written with a bias. The Bible is written from a perspective that believes that all of humanity is wrapped in the story of a Creator God and how humanity, from very nearly the very beginning, decides that the dots don't connect to God's story, but the story of self-importance and interpretation of life outside of the community of God.

humanity is one reason why I love coffee shops

I love coffee shops. Part of this comes out of my love for coffee. Part of this is because it provides a forum to observe humanity as it enters. The music is rarely too loud. The environment is rarely less than inviting. The baristas are often friendly and if you stop in enough, they even know your name.

There is a sense in which a coffee shop will put up with anyone and almost anything. Granted, this probably has more to do with economics than a real love for people or a desire for community (though, I wouldn't necessarily say that this isn't the desire of the proprietor of a coffee drinking establishment).

Today, I sat and read in a place called The Green Line Cafe in university city. Hipsters came in and left. Speakers of foreign languages came in and left. A woman with children who were not her own came in and left. The children were loud and multicultural... and fun to watch. A “crazy” man came in, introduced himself to everyone, assured the baristas that he wasn't there to stir trouble (this time), and tried to set a date with some of the female patrons as he explained to everyone that he volunteers at the local V.A.

Today, I sat and read and drank coffee in the midst of humanity. I was reminded that I love coffee and that I love humanity in a way that my upbringing would have never allowed. That, my friends, is a peculiar grace through Christ, Jesus.

Hoarding...

One of the show's Laura and I started watching during our sitting times with Jude is A&E's Hoarders. The title of the show should give a fairly strong indication of what it's about.

But why am I thinking about it this morning?

My inbox has always been notoriously... full...

Right now, I have nearly 1500 messages there (don't worry... only 21 or so are "unread").

It got me to thinking about my dad. This isn't going to be one of those touching remembrances or a (perhaps) heartfelt lament of what it will be like raising our son having never met his paternal grandfather.

No... this is a little along the lines of the inheritance of sin.

So there's this verse in the Old Testament of the Bible that says, "And those of you who are left shall rot away in your enemies' lands because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away like them." (Lev 26:39).

I really should mention that the context of the verse isn't dire hopelessness, but a hope found through repentance and the promise of forgiveness from God to His people.

But I'm thinking about this for a few reasons this morning. On the one hand, I think, "What sorts of things will I pass on to my son?" It's really caused me to second guess some of the things that I say and some of the ways that I act when I'm around him. On the other hand, it makes me think of the baggage I'm carrying as well.

I think there are some who would veer to heavily on the personal responsibility side to say, "Well, you just need to 'man up,' (in some respect) and take responsibility for what you do." There is another dichotomy that might say, "Well, you can't help what you do because you've been formed and conditioned by the context in which you were raised." Then there's the middle ground - the ground that I think a lot of us would stand if we really thought at some length about issues of sin. That is, that nature and nurture both play a part in the actions we perform and the motivations that drive those actions.

Specifically, there is the inner influence of the me that believes that comfort must be found (though, comfort is a good thing). That same self might decide that comfort shouldn't... or wouldn't... be found by seeking the Lord. So the outward me comes into view to say, "Look, remember how you may have been taught in the past? Think about the things that bring comfort... the things that bring security..."

In the house I grew up in, there wasn't a lot that went to waste. If we saw something on the side of the road that looked even remotely valuable, then it was valuable enough to be picked up. Granted, we weren't nearly as bad as the hoarders depicted on the A&E show, but we had our moments. We had a garage full of miscellaneous wood.

There were planks of different sizes.

There were sides of old plywood boxes.

There was furniture.

There were old pipes.

There were boxes full of rusty hardware.

I remember that there were times where I couldn't walk into my own room (this, however, was my own fault) due to the piling of things on the floor. And even now... it's really difficult for me to throw away some things, or to give others (that are in decent condition) away as there "...might always be a use for that later."

So this is a light thing, but perhaps heavy in its implications. My own father did not grasp for Christ in this life. And sometimes, I see the actions he pursued to bring comfort and security being amplified in my own life (perhaps they're amplified because they are introspective?). His days were spent by working hard when he was at "the office," and being served and entertained while he was at home. His weekends were spent foraging and gathering and seeing success as what had been accumulated through all of his aforementioned hard work.

And I see a lot of him in me.

On a somewhat side note, I think that we (being inclusive of you if you are of the people who subscribe to this faith of following after Christ) may have a tendency to gloss over sin and to shoot straight to the primary growth of the root rather address the reality of what comprises the secondary growth. Often, then, the answer is "Well, you need to love Jesus more," or, "You need to to worship Jesus rightly," or, "You need to understand that your real problem is you own base sinfulness and not just the effects of that base sinfulness." However earnest the "encourager," in these situations might be, what is often not taken into consideration is the fact that people who believe themselves as Christians are people who are wrapped up in a process of being changed while still living with the residual intricacies and problems of the sin that remains in their (our) lives.

As such, salvation is not the magic wand that removes the sense and belief of the power of comfort apart from God, or security apart from God, or acceptance apart from God, or anything else apart from God from the exercise of our day to days on this side of heaven.

But... a lot of times... we think it is.

A lot of times, it becomes really easy to judge people whose outward lives are a mess.

A lot of time, it is easy to deny the fact that Jesus saves people whose lives are an outer and inner mess.

More than that, there can be a total denial that culture, family, education, history, philosophy, etc. has the power that it does in shaping who we are and are to become.

What Christ has committed to in the incarnation, what he has committed to in His expression of true Humanity and true Spirituality is to call us instantaneously righteous by his death and resurrection while simultaneously living with us through our ineptitude in the process of living a life with him (I've heard a lot of people - professors and pastors - call this the "already" and "not yet" of Christianity. That is the reality of this life of living in faith of following after Christ.

But still... I really need to clean out my inbox.

** I was doing a search for a goofy picture I could add to this, so I searched "Jesus Hoarder" and ended up pulling a great snippet from Ed Welch at CCEF - you can read it by clicking here. He states (shortly) that hoarding is a little unique to western culture and gives some points to work with if you (or someone you know) is struggling with hoarding.