Hometown In My Head. Part ii
I've been thinking a lot about Donald Miller's lifeboat theroy (the excercise you do at school where each person is given a character to be, and then you're told that you're in a lifeboat that can't sustain all of you and you have to decide who is going to be thrown overboard). Based on the character and value/usefulness/attractiveness etc. people make judgements on who should go and who should stay. Donald claims that we live our lives in the same way, associating with the cool/beautiful/successful people (cos everyone likes them) and therefore have value and a safer position in the boat. And disassociating with the ugly, difficult, failing people cos they're easily thrown overboard and therefore we're at risk of the same fate. He also says that the way others treat us effect our position in the boat, eg. someone cutting us off while driving makes us feel like we have been disrespected and therefore moved further down the hierarchy of the boat, and closer to being thrown over. I kinda think he has a point. If you look for it, this way of thinking and behaving appears all over the place.Donald's point is that we were made for relationship with God and outside of that we seek value/acceptance/love in all the wrong places. That our real value can be only found in God alone. He also says that Jesus didn't fit with the lifeboat mentality and did nothing to conform to it, rather did everything 'wrong' to be safe/successful. Making himself nothing, cultivating/defending no reputation at all. How would it be to live a life like that. liberating? lonely? - who isn't lonely already?
2 comments:
I both love and deplore that verse. I love how it challenges and inspires me... but I hate how difficult it is and how it reveals myself to be more devoted to myself and others than I usually am to God. To make myself of no reputation would be to also remove myself from typical Western and typical church cultures... If I really abandon myself to God I will be an Alien... which of course can be both liberating and lonely. So how can I choose the road less travelled? I think it's only possible if I fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of my faith. An eternal rather than earthly mindedness.
maybe a shallow response but the first thought i had was throw me over. not because i am so good that i am willing to sacrifice and not because i am so loving... i think simply because it is right for me right now.... don't know whay i'm rampling. rambling.
Post a Comment