An Evolution of Sorts
I have meant to write another post dozens of times and obviously, it hasn’t happened…until now…as it is, this post has been sitting in my saved items for days. I am constantly trying to keep this site in mind so I can keep it updated and I constantly have ideas I want to log but I am constantly distracted by other things. Now I have all but forgotten virtually all of the slew of subjects I have wanted to comment on and have set a new record for time between posts. I’m left here again stating that I hope to do better. Ah well…all that aside…makes little difference now…
So the Health Care bill just passed and it is big news. I’ve maintained my usual disdain for government intrusion, I’m sure much to the chagrin of many of my Facebook friends who are likely quite tired of the same old tirades, articles, links, videos, and so forth. I guess it just never ceases to amaze me what lazy Americans are capable of. Now, I am one of them so I’m not speaking of something that I am not acutely aware of myself. Daily I struggle against the temptation to be distracted by a thousand other things that look or sound far more interesting than continuing on with the fight against the status quo. Of course, this leads me to my state of mind these days…that is, what exactly the “status quo” means to you depending on how you view the world, right/wrong, and the usual presuppositional considerations.
I’m finding it increasingly difficult to stay the course when it comes to the faith that I’ve come to take for granted. Not that I think any differently as it concerns God’s existence, sovereignty, grace, etc. But rather, how much do we put our systems and theories front and center and call them truth? I fight against the “status quo” and struggle to exercise “independent thinking” (which is a silly notion by the way…all anyone’s thinking consists of is an amalgam of bits and pieces borrowed from a thousand other sources); but so does the guy on the other side of my arguments. To use the political example, the liberal or the neo-con will both say they are fighting the “status quo” because both have a completely different idea of what the “status quo” is. And here I am, opposing both of them, calling both of them “status quo” agents. So in the end, each party to an argument does little besides accuse the other of being part of the status quo…and stupid…let’s not forget how stupid each side things the other is.
Mind you, I’m there too. I think those that go along with all of this government intrusion business are incredibly ignorant…and I think that of some folks who I consider to be otherwise fairly intelligent people. But then, they probably think similarly of me. Or at least think I need to stop being so paranoid. So how in the world do we get at truth when mostly we are just going around trying to fit the world, politics, religion/faith, habits, economics, science, etc. into our systematized thought? And what of those that think me foolish for even thinking/worrying about this stuff in the first place? I’m sure my “friends” list on Facebook is chock full of folks that really would like Facebook to be nothing more than entertainment and I can appreciate that. But then there are those that think it a great platform for getting people to think and communicate with one another about important things. I’m all for that too. So I find myself riding the fence on what I post, what I say, and probably just annoying most of them most of the time. But then, I don’t think I know how to do much but try and balance relaxation with follow-through thinking so that I can enjoy myself without being carried along with the complacent current of the culture.
Perspective is everything it seems. My mother once said that perception is reality and I think that pretty much is the case with human beings. You only know what you know and you can’t possibly know what you don’t know. This should drive even the most know-it-all-ish types among us to at least some sense of humility. It’s a big world. God is a big God. His truth is a big truth. And there is no way that we can even fathom it so I find myself just trying to slow down, be quiet, and find it in his creation…in his people…in the little things…in the big things…in everything. It’s not that I have the ability to stop pounding my fist about the things that I think are important…but at the end of the day, I hope and pray that everyone knows that when I do, it’s only out of a desire to recklessly pursue the truth and live with a strong awareness of it. We all are living under the gaze of God and it would serve us all to stop and think about that a little more often and think less about making ourselves happy, stroking our own egos, or trying to accumulate more stuff.
I hope I don’t come across like some wishy-washy, postmodern disciple of uncertainty. I believe in absolute truth absolutely. I believe all anyone can do is seek out that truth that they might adhere to it. I believe in a standard that lies outside of my ability to reason myself towards it. Therefore, I think it all of God’s grace that I can grasp any of it. And I think God’s truth, grace, redemption, love, glory, etc. is IMPORTANT. I’m just very thankful that it doesn’t all depend on me to figure it out in order for it to be what it is…something outside of me, acting on me, changing me, making me be something better that I may help establish in my family and circles, a legacy of the pursuit of God’s truth, grace, redemption, love, and glory. And God willing, I can have a little light-hearted fun along the way.