Category: Culture

I have seen enough of God’s wily ways with the Powers to stake my life on the side of hope.

There’s more to life than meets the eye.

You know this in moments when what looks like a mole-hill packs a mountain-size wallop.

When the tug of a ripple pulls you under, you wonder.

Or when, to your surprise, a life-time of darkness clears because of some small, obvious kindness.

There’s something behind it that cannot be seen–forces bigger and hidden, that your five senses can’t name.

The Bible points to the spiritual in every person, but behind institutions and structures as well–unseen powers that have the capacity to respond to God, or choose their own way.

To ignore this fact is to beat our foreheads bloody on the brick wall of entrenched evil.

It means we will fall prey to a simplistic belief that if only that one person were not in office, if only that one family member would change, if only those kind of people didn’t exist, all would be well. It means we will appoint scapegoats, we will notice evil everywhere but in ourselves.

Let’s be honest: our foreheads take a battering more often than not.

“For our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places,” the apostle Paul reminds us.

The Powers That Be

I recommend Walter Wink’s book, The Powers That Be to anyone who will listen. One of the 15 Books That Found Me, Wink opened my eyes to “the spiritual reality at the heart of everything.” Human systems, created by God to serve his purposes (Romans 13), can be bent, putting their own interests above God’s (Daniel 10, Revelation 3).

Wink puts it this way:

• The powers are good
• The powers are fallen
• The powers must be redeemed.

Think about the systems to which you belong. Your country, community, workplace, school, family, place of worship. To whom do they ultimately answer (Colossians 1:16-17)? To whom do they presently bow? How will they be redeemed?

Hint: It begins with you.

Have you been tempted to embrace easy answers to the problems of our day? Who are your favorite scapegoats?

Next Time: Part 2: Exposing The Myth

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Every time you do something that comes from your need for acceptance, affirmation, or affection…you know you are not with God. ~Henri J.M. Nouwen

The woman gripped her grocery cart and muttered disgust as I passed. The aisle was crowded and it was clear I had steered through an opening without waiting my turn. My first impulse was to give her a hug–my day was going fine. But I’ve been in that muttering place, when the slightest offense left me reeling.

Last week we looked at the 10 habits of the self-absorbed. A wood shaving describes our sin nature–curled into itself, protecting the deep wound of disconnection from our Creator. The topic is a timely one. Politicians and preachers alike applaud the individualistic orientation exemplified in Ayn Rand’s paean to narcissism, Atlas Shrugged. Has it ever been so socially acceptable to be selfish?

But selfish is not what we were made to be. A reader’s recent comment rings true:

…the way I rid myself of self-centeredness is not to somehow discipline myself in difficult, tempting situations; but rather to allow God to “crowd out” pride with His love. 

Beautiful–love crowding out pride.

This is every person’s problem: we don’t know how deeply we are loved. We don’t feel welcome, we don’t feel blessed, we sense we are vulnerable and threatened, so life is reduced to strategic self-defense. We don’t understand that we are wired to respond to Love with love, and to allow our gracious, other-centered Savior to uncurl our souls.

But we must practice the habits of grace if we would resist the pull inward.

10 Habits of Life Uncurled:

• Take the worst seat, the last place in line.
• Find quiet ways to serve those who can’t repay.
• Argue an issue from the opposing point of view.
• Give the attention you crave to somebody else.
• Speak ten grateful words for every one grumble.
• Let others talk–be silent and listen.
• Live open-handed, releasing control.
• Say often and out loud, “I could be wrong.”
• Treat with respect the NO of another.
• Journal the feelings you are tempted to avoid.

What habits help your soul uncurl? 

Image credit flickr-milomingo

 

Love is based on trust, and it is hard to trust anyone in a culture of narcissism. ~Christopher Lasch

We weren’t made to stand alone. We weren’t created to love best our own image. We weren’t meant to sing the song of the self-absorbed, but we do, by default.

Martin Luther described original sin as our nature “deeply curved in on itself.” A professor illustrated Luther’s thought, placing a curled shaving of wood in my hand. I rolled it gently across my palm and imagined God’s grief over each tightened coil.

In 1979, Christopher Lasch described contemporary America in the title of his book, The Culture of Narcissism. His words were prophetic, written long before Twitter, Reality TV or the shrill paranoia of our time. What once was a narrow psychological diagnosis is now our marinade.

The diagnosis is not surprising–we recognize narcissism when we are targeted, we instinctively reject manipulation or contempt. But we excuse ourselves from the verdict.

Until God rolls us gently across his palm and invites us to look again.

10 Habits of the Self-Absorbed:

1. Demand perfection: No failure tolerated, life’s a competition.
2. Road rage: You deserve to be first and get the best, the world is there to serve your interests.
3. Take offense: All criticism avoided, disagreement must be squashed.
4. Crave approval: Addicted to admiration, you “fish” for your next fix.
5. Pity party: You feel deprived and mistreated, life is unfair.
6. Lack empathy: It’s not your fault if they hurt, they probably asked for it.
7. Helicopter parent: Your self-image lives or dies on your children’s performance.
8. Embrace self-importance: Your opinions are the gold standard, contempt and criticism live on the tip of your tongue.
9. Exploit: Lies and manipulation get you what’s wanted, others’ preferences don’t matter.
10. Avoid feelings: Never look close, never go deep. You may not like what you find.

I’m nailed by at least three. Those who know me well might add more. What about you? Which of these hit home? Blessed are those who can admit the truth. They’ve taken the first step toward life uncurled (Matthew 5:3).