Wholeness: Goals VS avoidance

Have you ever heard of the goal-oriented vs avoidance-oriented spectrum?

You have undoubtedly heard of the goal side of that at least. A simple definition is to decide what you want out of life and devise strategies to achieve or acquire said things. Most motivational speakers center their programs around this idea. The way they tell it, it's a virtue, and it's the only way to live. However, it's not inherently virtuous to be goal-oriented, they are only as good as their goals after all. If their goals happen to be shallow, selfish, and superficial you would be hard-pressed to call them righteous. Such self-centered people can have real tunnel vision with their goals and can end up hurting and betraying the people in their lives. To them, it's just collateral damage, at least until it comes back to haunt them, which it often does. People with natural tendencies of being goal-oriented can also be very impatient as well, and just can't sit and wait when it's needed. They can have an inexplicable desire to force things to happen and can end up spoiling their efforts when delicacy is required. Especially when people are involved, and those people happen to be more avoidance-oriented. They will not respond well to being pushed on.

Then there is the flip side of it; the avoidance oriented. As obscure a term as it may be, it’s actually rather common, just nobody is trying to sell self-help health books based around it. The avoidance oriented identify the things that they don't want to experience in life and devise strategies to avoid them. Again, there isn't anything inherently right or wrong about this tendency. It's just a different way to approach life. There is nothing wrong with avoiding the consequences of the sinful nature of the flesh after all. Yet, sometimes they end up avoiding way too much and miss out on many positive things. They often never find or live out their purpose in the kingdom of God; as a result. These can be the unfaithful servants that bury their proverbial talent in the ground. (Matthew 25:14-30) Generally, such people are more sensitive than the goal-oriented, especially when it comes to external stimuli.

But remember, it's a spectrum; we are all capable of both sides of it. We just tend to favor one side of it more than the other. The reason I bring it up is that the details in how you live this out can be very revealing about yourself. This can give us insight into where our wholeness has gone askew, where we really seek it from, as well as reveal why we are failing in true holiness. For example, when a highly goal-oriented person is actively avoiding a very specific thing, it's a strong indicator of where their brokenness lies. We can even find ourselves with one foot on both sides of the line where our lack of wholeness is concerned. We especially see this in our relationships. We desire connection, but we also want to avoid the parasitic users who have betrayed us before. So when we do venture into a new relationship, we can end up projecting fears upon people who haven't even earned our distrust yet, and judge them by what other people have done. Trying to control relationships this way will sabotage our goals before they even have a chance to take root. Not that we should look at people as goals.

In short, as disciples of Christ, we need to always be evaluating our goals, or lack thereof, and make sure that they are in God's will and holy. When I say holy, I mean more than just sinless perfection. As Luke 11:24-26 reveals, removing something bad from our life, and not replacing it with something good can leave a void, leaving us vulnerable to backsliding. Or as Galatians 5:16-18 reveals, the best way to counter what we shouldn't do is to focus on doing what we should do. So this post comes back to the same thing that so many others have. To focus on that one dimension of holiness, and forsake the others is to set ourselves up for failure. Every side of holiness helps to support the others.

The Visual PARABLEist

Wholeness: Salad Bar Faith

I recently entered an art for suicide prevention show. Since the show had been judged by the public, I knew I didn't have a chance at winning anything. My entry was just too honest and challenging. I dare say the prizes went to more sentimental and easy-to-understand pieces that made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, at least for a moment.

But, I have no regrets about it, I had something to say, it needed to be said, and I said it. As I indicated in my artist statement, the last thing I wanted to do is make a depressed person feel as if they have to put on a fake happy face for the sake of the comfort of others. Such actions force people deeper into the darkness, which can lead to more suicide, which is definitely not the point of the show. I wanted to offer a real answer that leads to genuine overcoming, as well as convict the critical people who berate the depressed. Not just offer a palatable yet ineffective answer.

I can assure you; anyone with any kind of ministry must make similar choices continually. I say that because many seem to treat their faith like a salad bar. They load up on the ingredients they like and leave the rest behind. Like the people who get so fixated on love and forgiveness, but not so much on righteousness. For them, salvation is a way to dodge dealing with brokenness. So they end up in this never-ending cycle of making the same mistakes and seeking forgiveness for them. There is no transformation in that, so there is no holiness in that. So we don't really delight and inspire people with our lives that way. The flip side of that is the people who get all fixated on righteousness, but shun love and grace. While there is indeed a certain comfort in a systematic set of rules for some, it falls short of a well-balanced spiritual diet. For them, helping is simply a matter of correcting people's behavior through criticism. Yet failing to recognize the root of said problems. This kind of help can feel like rubbing salt in a wound, not dressing it. So their so-called evangelism discourages and drives the lost away.

Again, I must make that decision myself continually. If I wanted a huge following on social media, I could do so by offering a bunch of vague fluff that makes people feel good for a moment. But that doesn't lead people to wholeness and ultimately fully dimensional holiness. Or I could offer a formulaic set of rules that would attract people who want to be lulled into a false sense of spiritual superiority. But, there is no love, grace, or humility in that. That brand of holiness is tragically incomplete as well. Every church must make this some choice, follow one of these mainstream extremes, or the full gospel with complete holiness as their guide. You have to make a similar decision yourself, and the right one will include seeking wholeness along the path to holiness.

I still believe my current series on wholeness is my most important work to date. But that doesn't necessarily mean the most popular, and it definitely is not. Sometimes you just got to stick to your convictions and have faith that you really are part of the remnant, especially when the mainstream doesn't appreciate you. As I have said before, I'd rather touch a few lives deeply, than many lives superficially.

I did hear it through the grapevine that my entry did move at least one person deeply. That alone made it all worth it.

Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. -2nd Kings 19:30-31

Wholeness: Testimony 2.0

A common practice in the church is sharing testimonies. However, most of the time they are all about first finding Christ, and occasionally a healing experience. Isn't there more we could be sharing with one another? There is more to salvation than the initial glory after all. We must continue to work it out through discipleship. That is ultimately how we find wholeness, manage to set ourselves apart from the world, and for a mission. As well as genuine righteousness.

Then again, maybe there isn't much to tell. As a Christian counselor once revealed to me, many of his clients think being a Christian is just a matter of being a nice guy or a good girl. Actual transformation and calling never seem to come into it. Why should they think there is any more to it when we aren't telling our full stories of discipleship?

Take Peter; for example, scripture tells more stories of his failures than his successes. That is what makes him relatable. Why don't we afford ourselves the same? Maybe because that also makes us vulnerable. While we do see that as a positive trait in others, we don't in ourselves. If we were really confident in who we are in Christ, then we wouldn’t fear vulnerability.

My point being we need to let ourselves tell all our stories of discipleship. Where we succeeded, as well as how we failed. How we found our purpose, where we misfired with our calling. How we overcame our scars, and how they got there in the first place. How we heard from God, and how we might have misinterpreted his message before that. How we stumbled, how we stagnated, and how we found our way back to the path again. We need to tell the whole story so that we understand. Not just the select bits we share in small groups that make us look good. The whole story that reveals every step of our journey, including the mistakes. That is what can delight and inspire people to move forward, to not give up, and not settle for a painted-on-surface faith. This is what builds a community of whole, set apart, and righteous people. Is that not what a disciple of Christ should want?

The Visual PARABLEist

2nd Corinthians 4:7

Wholeness: Celebration

Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.” -Exodus 10:9

We don't often associate the church with celebration these days, although the concept is constant in scripture. In Old Testament times, every Sabbath was seen as a celebration of the Lord. Not to mention the Torah outlines numerous other celebrations. At one time, The New Testament church was no different. The liturgical calendar is filled with many holy days to celebrate, but at some point, we started to downplay everything but Christmas and Easter. Not only that, certain factions of the church started to disallow specific means of celebration like music and dancing. The question is why, when scripture doesn't support it at all. Much like my post on passion, we make no effort to distinguish worldly celebration, from the celebration of the Lord. Yet, our fears of shallow self-serving celebration have led the church to dismiss most celebration, even if it means extracting the good news out of the gospel.

With that being said, let me pose a question to you. Do your words and actions celebrate the good news of the gospel? Or do you only express your anger, and frustrations for those who celebrate only self? My point being, until we start to celebrate the full scope of holiness, we can't celebrate the full scope of the gospel. Until we start celebrating the full glory of the gospel, instead of just one dimension of it, we won't be able to delight and inspire the lost to seek wholeness in Christ instead of covering up our brokenness with reckless self-indulgence.

Perhaps that is part of the reason many only go to church on Christmas and Easter. They are the only days that seemingly offer the hope of the gospel anymore. A world that lacks wholeness, needs something constructive to redirect their hope too. They can't see it when it's hidden behind this wall of righteousness we are throwing in their faces. All they can see is guilt, shame, and condemnation.

Do you see The Gospel of Jesus Christ as something to celebrate? Do you want to invite as many as possible to that celebration? (Matthew 22:1-14) Or do you see the gospel as a joyless chore? Following only the single dimension of holiness that is righteousness will indeed seem like a chore, with nothing to celebrate. A strong indicator that you have left something vital out of your faith. I assure you, a fully dimensional faith is something to celebrate. 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30

The Visual PARABLEist