Speaking in categories

As is obvious, if one watches the news and current events, there are massive categorical disruptions taking place.  Women are beginning to respond to the sexism that has been so prominent in history, different races are beginning to speak out and act out against the horrible abuses that take place based on race.  The category of gender is being questioned, re-defined and re-formed.

It recently occurred to me that the practice we have of categorizing people is really just a form of stereotyping.  One cannot say that all women are weak, that all Asians are computer whizzes, that all Native Americans are alcoholics or that all homosexuals are flamboyant imitations of Liberace. To do this type of categorizing is simply not accurate.  I suspect that much of this practice comes from, of all unexpected places, the idea of “big”. We live in a big country, we live in big houses, we drive big cars, we go to big churches, we go to big malls, etc, etc. But if we look at every single one of these items, they are all malformed and twisted in some sense.  Big, almost always, results in deformation and abuse. The use of big typically results in anonymity and loss of accountability. And this is the root problem.

When anonymity and lack of accountability become the norm, there is a tragic disconnect that takes place in people.  No longer are we dealing with John, Jim, Mary or Sally, we are dealing with nameless faces, nameless numbers and statistics.  We begin dealing and thinking in terms of categories: white, black, Asian, straight, gay, etc., etc. And when our interactions lose personality, we have nothing to love, as one does not love a category, but an individual.  

Because love is what it is all about.  Jesus summed up the entire point of life as love of God and love of neighbor. There is nothing else needed.  

Understanding Perspective

From the moment we are born and every following moment of our existence, our subjective understanding of reality consists of receiving and interpreting sensory input.  The problem is not the hardware, our five senses all work correctly and accurately (with birth defects being the obvious exception). The hardware is fine, but the interpretation process is where the problem lies. 99.9% of the time, we work on the assumption that our five layers of sensory input are the sum total of reality.

But Eastern thought and quantum thought tell us differently. Even within the Christian world, while we do admit to the reality of God, his interaction with mankind and the prospect of eternity, these concepts are still held at arm’s length as “future” or, at best, an emotional accessory.  The immediate reality upon which everyone works, is that of the financial here and now, retirement included. We work to buy things, to invest, to provide for our families, to prepare for retirement, and to enjoy the physical here and now. It simply is the framework within which everyone works and thinks.

So, what do we do when we come to realize that the physical here and now only accounts for 5% of reality?  According to Eastern thought, all mankind is connected, i.e., the sin of anyone person adversely affects the whole of humanity, in a metaphysical way.  We see when we meet someone and get an uneasy feeling, or, adversely, when we immediately “connect” with someone we meet.

The overall question here is responding to reality.  When we move past the shallowness and distractedness of a mere temporal reality and begin to see life holistically, the result is disturbing.  We find ourselves out of sync with the rest of society. The bright and shiny things of pop culture take on a paper cut-out feel. That which so easily distracted us in the past, now only leaves us empty.  Like a child learning to walk, we need to grow up and learn to live as genuine human beings.

Finding happiness

There seems to be a variety of ways that people find personal happiness (definitionally speaking).  Either through substances (food, alcohol, cannabis, etc.), through sex, or through distraction. The odd thing about using distraction is that WHAT that thing is that one is using to distract is irrelevant.  The mere fact that some “thing” is being used for a purpose other than its created purpose, automatically makes it an abuse. It can even be a “good” thing, i.e., exercise, learning, philanthropy. But the mere fact that it, as a tool, is being used to distract our thinking away from those things that are real or valuable, ruins it.

How does one find happiness?  It is even possible? Better yet, is it even valid to make finding happiness a goal for one’s life?  The church teaches us that this life was given for repentance. In other words, we are born, without our consent, into a family we didn’t choose, into a culture we didn’t choose, and into a period of time we did not choose.  We are born with sinful inclinations and with a soul that is a “son of Adam.” The mere fact that we are born human automatically makes us needy. But being blinded by sin, distracted by the bright, shiny things of the culture in which we live, raised by parents who are distracted and sinful as well, our potential for holiness is limited.

We can only find true happiness in holiness.   Sure, we may find titillation and entertainment in the world around us, but this is fleeting and very short lived.  The law of diminishing returns is a painful reality. We see it especially brightly in substance abuse. We will find no true happiness in things, in distractions, or even in people.  There is nothing wrong with any of these things, especially people, as God created man to be in communion. Ultimately with Him, but nearly just as much so, with other men. But our sinfulness, and the sinfulness of others, makes us selfish and mean.  Our fallen nature ruins everything. Especially our ability to see and embrace true happiness.

So finding happiness takes place when we do not seek it.  Finding happiness comes when we think of life as boot camp, a time for training and a time for hard work.  Like the carrot in front of the donkey, we will never reach the carrot if the carrot is what we seek. If we learn to look past those “bright, shiny things” that are constantly in our view, to the true end goal.  We will find true joy during the journey and true happiness at its end.

Don’t confuse the two.

Love for the other

We must not love, simply for the benefit of ourselves but instead we must love for the benefit of the other. The Christian life is defined as love of God and love of neighbor. But why? We love others because God loves us first. God loves us first, not because we were loveable or because we deserved love but because perfection is defined as love. God is love. To love unconditionally is easy when one loves for the other. To love that which is lovely and loveable is easy and intuitive. But to love in order to build up and restore the other is what we should be. This kind of love should define the Christian.

We love for the other because love is the only thing that will restore that which is damaged and distorted. Without love, we are nothing.

Distraction

When you distract yourself enough, it’s easy to stay content.  When you are distracted, you don’t spend time considering eternal life, suffering, or the vanity of life.  I suppose this is why the ascetics speak of the Orthodox life as being one of a “bright sadness.” We are constantly weighed down with grief over sin, grief over failure, grief over suffering (our own and that of others) and the general inability to really do anything about any of it.  But at the same time, we can look forward to an eternity free of sin and suffering.

This is not a selfish perspective.  In most cases, there is very little we can do to relieve suffering.  Certainly, we must do what we can, but there is nothing wrong with recognizing our weakness and inability but at the same time looking forward to a time when that suffering has ceased.

The framework of worldview

Any idea or concept can only make sense or “works” within the culture/context/worldview in which it is conceived or fabricated.  Of course, a “foreign” idea will most likely be irrational, ridiculous or just “stupid” outside of its home worldview. So, it should come as no surprise that the world will “hate”, “find irrational” or reject the ideas, concepts and practices of the Christian worldview, as these things are completely foreign to worldly thinking.

But this does not necessarily mean that truth cannot be found outside of the Christian worldview.  Because people are almost always inconsistent within their embraced beliefs or practices, they will, inevitably believe or practice something that actually originates from within Christianity, as all men are made in the image of God and therefore will, in some senses, be drawn toward truth.

Those things, of which people are personally concerned, they will remain concerned with, even after becoming a Christian. The content stays the same, but the framework changes.  The form of the concern may change and the answer for the concern may change, but the concern remains.

But this does not take into account the problem of inconsistency.  Because no one is ever perfectly consistent in their beliefs, one may embrace a belief or practice that is inconsistent with their own stated beliefs, simply because they have not thought through the foundations or implications of such a belief.  This is why it is so important to ask questions.  If there is a belief or practice within the framework of your beliefs (Protestant, Evangelical, Orthodox, Roman Catholic or otherwise), that you don't understand or doesn't seem to make sense, ask the question.  It very well could be that you have uncovered an inconsistency within  that system or within yourself.  Find the answer and adjust your beliefs accordingly.

On a personal note, I have found that the beliefs and practices of Eastern Orthodoxy is the only system that can stand under any and all scrutiny.

Sacrifice

One can come to understand what is important in someone’s life by observing the sacrifices that they make. This is similar to the act of observing how one spends one’s time and one’s money but it is looking from the reverse perspective. We can look at the stellar successes of many people and cannot but feel envy (to some degree, not necessarily sinful) for that success. But we must understand that someone made great sacrifices, some of them simply wrong to make, in order to gain that success. Whether they be moral sacrifices, financial sacrifices, or otherwise, sacrifices were made.

The question is, what sacrifices should we be willing to make to achieve our goals? Do we sacrifice our conscience? Do we sacrifice the other-centeredness to which we, as Christians, are called? Do we neglect the health of our souls? Do we neglect or ignore eternity to make gains in the here and now? Do we think that we can squeak by on almost borderline morality?
One can speak of narcissism here or Machiavellianism or just simply selfishness, but these are really all just fancy terms for self-centeredness. It is so important and so valuable, I believe to try to always approach a thought, an idea, a situation, anything really, into which we make contact, from an objective, non-emotional perspective, at least to start.  If we can step away from the "fun", "fulfillment:" or "satisfaction" that great wealth can bring, and look at the price paid for achieving that level of financial gain, we will usually see that the price paid was too high.  Too many sacrifices were made, usually at someone else's expense. It is when we can think of success in this framework that we will begin to have a balanced view of the entire picture.
Sure it may be temporally satisfying, but at what price?