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