“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
— John A. Shedd
“What am I for?” Our guest speaker, Lindy Backues, started our last lesson off by prompting us with this question. He didn’t mean to ask what we wanted to study or where we saw ourselves in 5 years; he meant deep down in our heart of hearts, what did we believe we were put on this Earth to do?
For those of you my age—now is the perfect time to figure this stuff out! We’ve experienced enough life to dive into self-contemplation, but we still have all the time in the world to live whatever reality we choose. No one wants to graduate from college unsure of what they actually want to do in life, yet that trend seems to only be growing. The average college student switches majors at least three times now. Why can’t we figure out this “what do you want to do?” question we’ve been asked since we were toddlers? I think this indecision stems from the lack of time we put into truly figuring out just who we are. We can’t discover what we’re called to do until we first get to know ourselves.
The Kivu staff recently had us take a personality-mapping test called the Enneagram. It’s a method for self-understanding and development that I highly recommend for anyone ready to take a step towards self-exploration and growth. Reading about it, however, I’m realizing how predictable we are. You can literally break the entire human race into nine basic personality types and from that know exactly how we’ll respond to basically any given situation. We need to better utilize tools such as these tests to understand our potentials and our weaknesses. We need to get to know ourselves so we can let ourselves thrive and find what will actually fulfill us. Anyone can do a job, but not many have managed to pair that job with a vocation—we need to change that! Study what you love! Explore your passions! Learn something new every single day! Who cares about finding a good job if you’re miserable while doing it? Who cares about America’s definition of “success” that’s been shoved down our throats for as long as we can remember? One of the most successful men I’ve ever met was homeless—not where your mind typically goes when you think “American Dream.” I saw him dancing outside of a Whataburger, grinning from ear to ear and having a great time. My friend and I asked him to join us for dinner, where he proceeded to tell us of lessons learned and the life he’d lived. He was happy, he said. He got to sit down with young folks like us all over the country, traveling where the wind took him and exploring new perspectives at each spot. Now, I’m not saying you have to be homeless to be happy, but I do believe you have to think about the things in life that truly make you come alive—the activities and passions at which you excel or that make you feel at total ease. Don’t ignore these things for a safe, conveyer-belt style life. Embrace them and throw yourself into them. Make them fit into the life you’re determined to live. You define success; don’t let it define you.
Now to the older generation (that’s right I’ve got lessons for you too)—you must share your experiences and mistakes with us and teach us the lessons you’ve learned. I know it seems like we aren’t listening half the time, but I promise we can’t help but learn something every once in a while! You’re leaving us with a lot of troubles to deal with in this mixed up world of ours, but we really could use some advice on how to make it better. Remember that you are not done learning or growing either. Don’t grow complacent, and please don’t complain about the technology and innovations you’ve created which we now so embrace. We may have grown up in different decades, but we’re living and learning together in the present, so let’s focus on bridging the gap, not creating a rift. After all, it’s going to take each and every one of us working together to make any real difference in this world.
How to help the world—not the easiest topic to solve in a single blog post believe it or not. We’re so used to our fast-paced world and our quick fixes that we tend to give up on any real problem that can’t be fixed overnight. We’re all talk, preferring to discuss the issues from the comfort of our nice warm homes instead of going into the real world, dirtying our hands with any actual difference-making work. We’re all guilty of this, and there’s no easy solution. The only real advice I can offer is to think globally and act locally. Change your personal actions and focus on growth in the community around you to play your part in solving our world’s crises. Stop turning peoples’ lives into political debates and start getting to know the people you’re discussing. Focusing on changing the laws you don’t like and putting the money where you want it will do very little. We’re struggling from a lack of effort, not a lack of resources. Once again, it seems we must take the hard route if we want to life an impactful life.
Back home, I know many friends and family are Christians, so now I speak to all of you specifically. We constantly hear lessons encouraging us to live a Jesus-like life, striving to follow in the footsteps of God who lived among us. We wear “What would Jesus do?” bracelets and pray our hardest for God to help us be like Him, but honestly, we are completely failing at being anything like Jesus. God gives us Jesus-like opportunities everywhere we look; we’re just choosing to ignore them and instead, once again, take the easier way. Let’s take a look at what Jesus would really do today, like with the poor for example; Jesus didn’t just hand money or materials out to the underprivileged, nor did he deem them lazy, unworthy, or good for nothing. Instead, he did something revolutionary: he loved them. He talked with them, lived among them, formed personal relationships with these people to figure out what they really needed, not just what we perceive their needs to be. What would Jesus do? Jesus would welcome the Syrian refugees and immigrants from all over the world who need our help—in fact, there are countless verses telling us this exactly! How could you turn a brother or sister, one of God’s own beloved, away in times of distress? What would Jesus do? Jesus would urge the oppressed to scream out and their oppressors to repent. I think Jesus would listen to the concerns of the Black Lives Matter movement or any other oppressed minority. Jesus would focus on finding a solution for their pain instead of throwing the blame around and responding to a group’s grievances with complaints of his own troubles. What we do to the least of these we do to Him, right? Jesus would listen. Jesus would love. Jesus would not live in this fear driven political madness we cling to today, and if you honestly believe that Jesus would vote for a hate-filled, greedy, hostile man like Donald Trump, then I think you need to reevaluate a few things and reconsider what the word really teaches. Don’t ask yourself what would Jesus do only when it aligns with your own motives. If you want to live a Christian life, live it—but don’t do it halfway. Don’t live the kind of lifestyle that gives Christians such a hypocritical reputation.
Once we start to realize the kind of lives we are actually being called to live, we can move on to the next step—living them! I know the comforts of our big homes and safe neighborhoods are appealing, but let’s remember—Jesus was born in a manger, not a palace. The greatest in faith among us are rarely found living in tremendous wealth. Mother Teresa did not bring change to Calcutta from a two-story suburban home. The thought of possibly being called to give up the luxuries we cling to in order to live a truly worthwhile life is scary. We tend to convince ourselves that although that lifestyle may be for some, it is definitely not for me! In return, I ask you this—if not you, then who? Who will take care of our troubled world full of God’s hurting children if we keep waiting for the next person to deal with it? God calls us to live among those with the greatest needs, giving everything we have physically, emotionally, and materially until none are poor among us. We tend to see poverty as a lack of material items, but so often, the real problem comes from being spiritually, socially, or psychologically poor. We'll never truly understand these deep roots, however, until we live among them. God doesn’t call us to just throw money at a problem until it goes away or to escape our real life for a few weeks of eye-opening “third world living.” These things aren’t bad, but they don’t do much real good either. Treating the symptoms finds no real cure and reward does not come without sacrifice, just as our own redemption did not come without death.
The above goes for everyone, not just Christians. No matter what drives you, the impact you make is up to you, and for those of you who, like myself at times, tend to feel uncomfortable at the mention of anything Jesus/God related—you must fight this tendency. Not everyone can separate themselves from their religion. Separation of church and state works in theory, but look at the US right now and tell me how much is truly separate. Everyone has freedom of belief—that means Christians too. We’re all struggling along in this life, learning lessons and figuring out right vs. wrong. Some people need Jesus for that, and some people don’t. Let’s leave it at that.
To say my time here is bursting with contemplation would be an understatement. It feels good to put into words the thoughts I’ve tried for so long to form, but what basic ideas I’ve shared in this single post could be expanded into discussion topics to fill a lifetime! There’s so much to learn and discuss, and it’s disheartening to realize how little we’ll actually be able to encounter in our short lives. How beautiful it is, however, that we get the fortune of having a say in the matter. The quote I began this post with ties it all together. You aren’t built for a safe and easy life, so don’t live one. We live in a country that gives us so much hope to dream, explore, and be! Why would you waste that away on some unoriginal route? Why wouldn’t you work for something you actually believed in?
Some of you may scan over this post, letting it slide in one ear and out the other; we have a tendency to do that when we’re told things we don’t agree with or don’t want to hear. That’s the easy route, and if you take it, then fine—that’s your choice. I’d be lying if I said the alternative wasn’t incredibly difficult. Rethinking all you’ve been taught and deciding for yourself what you believe and why you believe it is a lifelong journey —but if you want to live, to experience, to learn, and to grow with me, then do it. That’s your choice too—make it. I can’t promise it’s the right choice, but I welcome you to walk alongside me as we make it together.
Here are a few resources to help you along your way:
Enneagram Test: http://www.9types.com/rheti/index.php
Suggested Book: When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself
Many of my ideas explored above stem from this book. It's a must read for any modern day Christian finding their way to help in this world.
My number: (405) 471-3692 Let's explore these tough questions together. I don't care how close we are; I'd love to hear from you.
