Once again, I’m feeling inspired to write. And once again, I don’t exactly know where this is going.
I guess I’ll start with describing a conversation I had with my friend over lunch.
Lately, my friends and I have been sitting on this grassy lawn during lunchtime. We spread out, lie down, and gaze up at the sky. This month, California weather has been treating us pretty well: the just-after-rain sky is the most spectacular shade of blue, and it always seems to spur on rather meaningful conversations.
So this last week, my friend asked me if I ever feel like I would’ve defended the cause of Jesus in the first century, or stood up for the abolition of slavery in the 1800s, or fought for civil rights in the 1960s. Her question caught me by surprise: on many occasions, I have found myself wondering these same things. And it wasn’t until that moment that I realized other people wonder the exact same thing!
To be honest, the more I’ve thought about the whole concept, the more I’ve realized how much “hindsight bias” impacts my answer to the question. Having learned about these movements and reaped the consequences and benefits of their outcomes, I’m sure we’d all hope to answer, “Yes! Of course I would’ve believed in the teachings of Jesus. I’d be crazy not to. Of course I would’ve supported abolition. It’s the right thing to do. Of course I would’ve fought for civil rights. Segregation is wrong.”
But as I’ve reflected deeper on this question, I get more worried that I might not have.
For although I have this part of me that is committed to social justice, there’s this other part that is stuck in the conventional, the traditional, the “right” way of doing life. And honestly, while radical Christian living is quite appealing (and a bit of what I’ve written about in previous posts), I feel like there’s a point at which I cut it off, a point where I might not believe things.
Seriously, if we look at some of the stuff Jesus says in the Gospels it’s crazy sauce (my AP US History teacher’s favorite expression). In my Pastoral Theology class at school, we’ve been memorizing the "Sermon on the Mount", and it hasn’t been until now that I have realized how truly revolutionary and controversial his words were (and still are). Take for instance, Matthew 6:14:
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Are you kidding? If we don’t forgive men, God isn’t going to forgive us? Wow. They certainly don’t teach kids that in Sunday school! No wonder people went nuts about what Jesus was preaching!
And with a record of saying things like that, I worry that, back in the day, I might have been one of the hypocrites, one of the Pharisees, one of those who shunned Jesus for being too counter-cultural, too crazy.
It's in realizing this that I get to wondering if there’s a movement going on right now that I’m missing out on: something or someone that I’m ignoring because they sound too crazy. What if I end up missing it? What if I become somewhat of a modern equivalent to a Pharisee or someone who was pro-slavery or someone who was pro-segregationist?
I don’t want to miss out on that movement. I don’t want to be blinded by my pre-conceived notions, or my prejudice, or my own judgment. And yet it’s so hard. In all societies, I think people are taught that "what’s right is right." And those who go against the grain, those who challenge or question the status quo are shunned or ignored.
But as we’ve seen with the three examples I’ve mentioned, it has turned out that these under-dog movements changed societies (and arguably, the world). And as we look back, the ones who were against those movements are now the crazy ones, the ones we frown upon.
Forty years from now, I don't want to be frowned upon.
Fort years from now, I don't want to realize that I missed out on an important movement because I have been stuck in the traditional, "right" way of doing life,
Forty years from now, I don't want to realize I've been blind.
(What do you think? Leave a comment, if you’d like!)
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
blind.
Posted by Claire Aufhammer at 10:18 PM
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2 comments:
First of all, I love your blog. =]
Second, I love that I have met you and will have you with me at school next year! We have so many of the same passions, and you can put into words what I never seem to be able to.
The desire to live for God - radically. It seems to be hard in a world that desires radical living, but not necessarily radical, christian living. It also is frowned upon by many 'traditional' christians. I want to do something. So what, right? We shouldn't have to worry about the standards of this world. I want to make a difference. Like you, I want to be able to look back on my life forty years from now and feel like I have truly lived for God.
And yeah, Jesus was like the ultimate radical. He never thought of what others would think. I want to be like Him. I want to live just for the Lord and not care if people label me a 'Jesus Freak.'
And, I also want to comment on the post before this. =]
I loved this. Don has been talking on Sundays a lot about setting aside our sinful desires, our desires for this world. We need to focus on God and he will replace those desires with his. I have been really trying to focus 'my eyes on the sky' and learn what God has planned for my life.
Last thing I wanted to mention. I am SO JEALOUS that you guys are outside, sitting on the grass, and looking at pretty blue skies during lunchtime. We are locked in our lunchroom, which is freezing cold. And we never go outside, which today was about 14 degrees, so I wouldn't have wanted to anyway. Hahaha, so yeah. Jealous. Major. =]
This is profound, Claire. This is insightful. And it's comforting to know someone else has doubt in themselves as well. I've considered the same issue. My parents tell me that "Of course we would not have owned slaves back in the day" or "Of course we would have fought along side African Americans in the 60's." And I believe them. But if I critically think about the situation and consider the current circumstances, maybe I wouldn't have. Maybe I would have gone right along with society. Not that I don't know now that it's wrong, but then I may not have known like I do now. So I agree, what are we missing now? Who is the radical who will be remembered for good and who is the radical who will be remembered for bad. It seems to be more of a gamble than moral direction to me, in some instances.
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