Oh man.
It has been a long time. If you're willing to read this, I am thankful that you have nothing better to do.
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I’d be lying if I said there haven’t been things in my life worth writing about – I’ve recently come to understand the pure narrativity (not really a word, but you get it) of life…stories are everywhere. Trust me when I say things have been happening. However, every time I’ve sat down to write about them, the words written don’t convey the sense of snarky joy I go for here; instead I read self-pitying word vomit that I can’t, in good conscience, publish.
The simple act of writing down my frustrations has had a benefit: I’ve become more aware of when I’m complaining without a true cause. It has caused me to check myself spiritually, something I’m not proud to say I had let fall to the wayside since this new year began. To put it bluntly, it’s shown me where I need to change my life around.
This idea of a need to change has not left my head for some time. It’s really weird, and it makes me wonder…does anyone else notice when a particular idea is on your mind, how everything that happens seems to directly relate to that idea? (The narrativity of life, amirite?)
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I’ve been thinking lately a lot about peace. Peace between countries. Peace between faiths. Peace between people. It’s been a hard subject for me to grapple with for some years now.
I guess what I owe this recent weight on my mind to is the ongoing coverage of conflict in the media. Words like “shutdown,” a term I’ve only ever used in context of my laptop, have been given all-new connotations. Places like Libya, a country I’ve personally never thought about since learning its location in 9th grade geography, now callback ugly thoughts. It’s no surprise that the media thrives on these things. And this is just the first squirt of the toothpaste tube.
We as a culture are in conflict. Abortion. Marriage. Money. Law. You name an issue, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a person whose stance on said issue is exactly aligned with yours.
Even in the microcosm of Christianity, we are at opposition with one another. How are we saved? Who is saved? What is Hell? Is the Bible the truth? All are hot-button, contemporary topics.
So. What are we supposed to do?
The increasingly popular answer is: nothing.
Hold on. I promise I’m going somewhere.
Not ‘nothing’ in the truest sense of the word, but ‘nothing’ in the sense that we shouldn’t be trying to change people to fit our beliefs. We should just accept that they are different and coexist in peace.
Rest assured, dear reader; I do not disagree with the goal of peace between people.
What I do disagree with is the notion that we would, as sinful human beings, be able to live peacefully without problems.
One the very basest of levels, I do not think we would be able to function without conflict. We thrive on it. We want to know Jennifer’s thoughts on Angelina. We want to know who the latest celebrity to diss Glee is. We want to know everything about Charlie Sheen’s tiger-blooded adventures.
This is essentially why stories end after one side wins: when there is no more opposition, there is nothing more to tell.
So the question stands: how do we achieve peace? We must change.
(Remember how I started this post talking about change, and then did a U-turn somewhere around Albuquerque and started harping on about peace? Well, strap yourselves in, because I’m turning around.)
I used to think that I would never change who I was, and if people had a problem with me, then that was just their loss. My freshman year of college, I drank, slept in class, wore clothes as “statements”, and put things on my Facebook profile that would make my mother blush. What did I care? I was young, free, and always knew exactly what I was talking about. Typical. Teenage. Bullshit.
As I lived through the experience of college, I (spoiler alert!!) changed. I encountered professors who didn’t tolerate my angst, I was placed in charge of younger minds and was expected to give them answers, and I had to get several jobs when I lost a major scholarship due to my “freedom”.
Later than I care to admit, I was slapped out of it and realized I would have to change. Not for others, mind you, but for myself. I won’t pretend that other people didn’t have a hand in shaping that realization. It was how others in my life (teachers, bosses, friends) reacted to decisions I made that caused me to check myself. Thinking others don’t influence our discernment is borderline absurd.
Thinking God doesn’t want us to change is even sillier. It was God’s Word I turned to during those low points in my life. It was God’s Word that planted in me the seed of change.
God does indeed make us the way we are, but that never, never meant God doesn’t call us to change. In Romans, Paul urges Christians to “be transformed by the renewing of [our minds].” We are all born sinful beings. Our entire Christian existence is about dealing with that sinful nature. Most of us Lutherans have heard the whole Law-and-Gospel/faith-and-works song and dance; the Law gives us rules to follow while the Gospel forgives us when we screw up/ we are not saved by works, but our faith drives us to do works anyway. The change isn’t what saves us; the faith that we are saved pushes us to change… or rather, transform.
We are meant to change. If we as Christians never changed, our faith lives would be tragically stagnant.
So what does this have to do with our pursuit of peace? Living side by side with people of different theologies sounds great on paper, and many people assert that this is what the United States was created for. The way I see it, though…this will only take us so far.
Being accepting and loving to each and every person of each and every faith and philosophy is indeed what God has called us to do. Peace is an incredibly worthwhile cause. After all, Jesus did bless those who pursue it. Those who promote peace and love are championed in many a scripture verse. We were created to spread the Good News of Christ, peacefully and lovingly. Trust me; I would be that last to deny that.
Nonetheless, God also calls us to not yoke ourselves with people that are not going to pull us away from what we believe to be true. This tells me that peace can only be truly achieved by change. Otherwise, we would simply be burying our conflict under more and more friendly-faced denial.
For some, the words I’ve been writing have probably got you all hot and bothered by now, which means, as a writer, I’ve done my job. I could very well stop here and rest knowing I’ve gotten to you.
But, lucky for you, I have more to say. I know. You’re super-excited.
We have been called to spread the Word. And that Word is peace. But that won’t happen without change.
It was Jesus who said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
In this famous passage from Matthew, we are being called to change the world. Not by hate or conflict or denial. But by bringing about a shift – a change – in people when we introduce them to a Christ who loves them enough to die on a cross.
And honestly, why wouldn’t we want to do that right away?
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Whew. Okay.
Well, I probably just exposed a lot of myself in this post. Please know that I’ve been working/stressing/praying over these words for a while now. My intent is only to spark thoughts, not offend.
As always, I will try to write as my superfunandcrazy life unfolds in Longview, TX. For now, I must go. I’ve been sitting in my office chair for far too long…and I think my legs are asleep.
Have a happy Easter!
-Danul
