living an imbalanced life. . .on purpose

My fellow conspirator and blogger, One Ordinary Radical, talked about yin yang and balance in work and play on his blog a awhile ago. I answered a little, but then when looking for more on this topic and now I have blogged on yin yang.

The yin yang symbol has been adopted in western world in hippie and retro hippie culture. The image lingers today on temporary tattoos and surfboards. They show up on swim wear and guitars, doo rags and key chains. The ancient symbol of balance has been bastardized by free world consumeristic expression, as are many sacred symbols (case and point, are rhinestone crosses really the best expression of torturous crucifixion? probably not.) As often is when we make a dollar or a million on marketing Jesus or yin yang, often concepts surrounding these symbols become diluted and watered down. American markets are masters at manipulating concepts and practices into molds of our liking, often in the name of ‘free expression’ or freedom. But I digress.

A Yin Yang definition states:

“The yin yang is the easily recognized Taoist symbol of the interplay of forces in the universe. In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang represent the two primal cosmic forces in the universe. Yin (moon) is the receptive, passive, cold female force. Yang (sun) is masculine- force, movement, heat.

The Yin Yang symbol represents the idealized harmony of these forces; equilibrium in the universe. In ancient Taoist texts, white and black represent enlightenment and ignorance, respectively.”
Yet in the black and white symbol of the ying yang are dangerous suppositions when associated to Christian life-balance.

Controlling Balance
As followers of Christ, Sabbath is part of the Judeo-Christian backdrop of our lives. Yes, according to the Bible, a time of rest should occur at regular intervals. Yes, Jesus practiced Sabbath, but Jesus also broke it often to help those in need. What does that say bout balancing work and play in our lives? Better yet, what are we categorizing as work vs. play? Where does service fit into that picture? In the Bible, there are debates in Jewish practices for what is considered work. Even today, centuries later, some groups of Jews thing work is turning on a light or walking anywhere.

I believe One Ordinary Radical’s intent was work and play in the overall sense. I propose there is more to work than a job and there is more to rest or play than the ceasing of working at a job. In fact we are encouraged throughout the Bible to serve others countless times more than resting. In this instance the yin yang would not be an even balance of rest and play. You only have to look at Jesus’ life to see the imbalance of recreation time to working to bring heaven on earth.

Jesus’ view of heaven on earth is not Disney or Magic Mountain, white water rafting and watching movies or eating at an excellent restaurant. Heaven on earth feeds the hungry, gives a drink the to thirsty, clothes the naked, provides shelter and dignity for all. Truly, the needs of the poor and oppressed are simpler than vacations or nights out on the town. It comes right down to water, food, shelter and freedom from slavery/oppression and war. For that reason, I am for imbalance in my own life as I strive to be a part of God’s vision. In that vision I see less play and more work for the Kingdom here on earth that needs to be done for my fellow brothers and sisters at the most basic levels of quality of life.

God vs. Human
The Bible says it clearly from the start in the ‘wrongly controversial’ creation stories. (We should rely less on the literal story of creation and more on the POINT of them.) We see it in the Tower of Babel and throughout Kings and prophets. God is God and humans are not. As followers of Christ, we walk in the manner and life of Jesus, We aspire to become more Christ-like, to be ‘little Christs,” but in the end, we do not literally become another Jesus the Christ. Jesus was God and human. We will always still be human. For that basic reason, I trust my own judgment in life balance less than what God wants for me.

The scripture I’ve been chewing on for a couple of months is Micah 6:8 which says, “Seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.” Not a whole lot of resting in that statement. Some may argue that walking humbly means we are saying we are human by following Sabbath time and resting, learning that we are not god-like in our capacity. Even so, that is one third of the Micah scripture. Not equal in balance by any means. According to this scripture, clearly 2/3 of the time we are to be faithfully living out God’s vision of kingdom life in mercy and justice.

In the end, the yin yang of God vs. us should always favor the former and not the latter. Here the key in not the balance of listening to God and ourselves equally, but to solely listen to and depend on God for guidance. God’s relationship to us is not an equal balance on any level. God’s guidance that often ask us to work more than play, do more than we think we can, push us way past our own perceived limits to trust, do and follow the will of God much more than our own will.

I must live the imbalance of discipleship and what God wants in the world over my understanding of work/play (life) balance in my own personal space. For that reason, the yin yang doesn’t work well for me.

Just a few current imbalances we need to work and pray ceaselessly to make right.

* The average teenager spends $101 a week.
– $101 would educate 2 African children for an entire year
* One dollar buys a soda or a bottle of water in the US.
– One dollar gives person clean water for a year.
* Nearly three billion people world-wide live on less than $2 a day.
* Est. time reading this blog, 5 minutes. Number of people who have died during that time for lack of clean drinking water (1 every 15 seconds) = 20

Consider the global priorities in spending in 1998
Global Priority $U.S. Billions
Cosmetics in the United States 8
Ice cream in Europe 11
Perfumes in Europe and the United States 12
Pet foods in Europe and the United States 17
Business entertainment in Japan 35
Cigarettes in Europe 50
Alcoholic drinks in Europe 105
Narcotics drugs in the world 400
Military spending in the world 780

And compare that to what was estimated as additional costs to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries:

Global Priority $U.S. Billions
Basic education for all 6
Water and sanitation for all 9
Reproductive health for all women 12
Basic health and nutrition 13

http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp

flushed away

Visionary science fiction television show writer Gene Roddenberry inspired our generation ideas for ‘furthering’ our society with auto-opening doors, laser beams, colored screens for computers, walkie-talkie communicators (cell phone and blue tooth), and a variety of medical tri-cordery thingies for scanning the body. We all benefit from these futuristic visions.

Often, society creates new inventions and processes that improve our lives in the name of progress. Take the dishwasher for instance. This tool is a way to get around dishpan hands, hours washing dishes, while also efficiently sterilizing our plates and forks using less water. Truly something that helps us and helps the environment. A win/win.

The same can not be said about auto-flush toilets, the bane of today’s restrooms.

I never gave these inventions much thought until the past couple of years when my daughter went from preschool to the new elementary school in town. The preschool was ‘old school’ with the standard flush handles on your basic institution toilets. No problem there. The new elementary school has auto flush toilets and auto towel dispensers. I guess in the designers mind, this is considered 21st century restroom design. And, perhaps, it also helps keep the bathrooms clean with less, er ‘waste’.

As for you, my flock. . . Is it not enough for you to feed on good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough? Ezekiel 34:17-18

What is also did, unfortunately, was train my daughter not to flush toilets anymore. Now, home bathrooms with none of the auto-amenities are left un-flushed for the next family member. What concerns me even more is that is also teaches my daughter that messes she leaves in her wake are not her responsibility to clean up, that something or someone else will clean it up for her. And if these messes aren’t her responsibility, how will this affect her understanding of her role in how to restore our earthly environment? I wonder if we are teaching the next generation that using what is there and leaving the mess behind is an acceptable way to live.

The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. Leviticus 25:23-24

In a country where consumerism is king, where we are given every opportunity to take and use and not encouraged return in kind, what is the best way to teach responsibility for resources, land and animals? Unfortunately the U.S. is #1 in trash producing countries, creating about 1,609 pounds of trash per person per year. From my standpoint, responsibility starts at home, how I live my life, how I teach my daughter to live. It’s one step, one recycle can, one commode flushed at a time. In any event, for the progress of convenience, comes a price. And we, my friends, have just begun to pay it.

I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and you made my inheritance detestable. Jeremiah 2:7

Take a step today. Do something to give back what you take from the earth.

In Christ,

Deana

first 10 and the kingdom

I subscribe to the David Crowder blog. This week, a blog asked this of me:

“Grab your preferred digital media player and push play in shuffle mode. Report here in the comments the first 10 tunes that pop up. Cheating is prohibited, as it would be in poor taste. This will decide whether you are a likable person or not, at least that’s what my friend Jack told me. When he said this, the part about being a likable person, I panicked, but it turned out he was kidding. Sort of. He did seem genuinely bothered by the two Bee Gees tunes though. I mean, 2 out of 10! That’s quite a lot of Bee Gees really, but what I’m trying to say is don’t cheat.”

So I grabbed my MP3 player, and, pressed “Shuffle”. Let me tell you the temptation to cheat is very hard to ignore. I mean, this list was supposed to define in 10 songs my musical profile, my musical TASTE. :-0 Here was mine.

* Stay (Wasting Time) by Dave Matthews Band / Live at Folsom Field
* Fireworks by Moby / 18
* Never Finish By Leigh Nash / Blue on Blue
* Go-Go Gadget Gospel by Gnarls Barkley / St. Elsewhere
* One Day by KT Tunstall / KT Tunstall’s Acoustic
* Breathe Me By Sia / Colour the Small One
* November by Duncan Sheik / Duncan Sheik
* One Chance by Modest Mouse / Good News for People Who Love Bad News
* #41 by Dave Matthews Band / Live at Radio City
* Gratitude by India Arie / Voyage to India
Hmmm. In general, my 10 songs were an eclectic collection, no Bee Gees or other interesting randomness on the list. No embarrassing “Frankie Goes to Hollywood” or other 80’s misfit reared its ugly head. Of course, what I’ve loaded or bought and put on my MP3 is not my entire musical taste history, I must confess. I’ve had my, er, moments of weakness. Stuff I really can’t bear to listen to anymore and I wouldn’t load onto my MP3 in the first place. My musical ear has progressed and changed throughout my life. Rarely do I delve into the past in music to ‘relive’ my wonder or high school existence. A few college tunes (from Springsteen, Joel, Madonna, Modern English or Soft Cell) occasionally peek out from behind the curtain of the past. But I digress.

What this seemingly meaningless exercise brought to light is our culture’s obsession with the perception of who we are based on what we consume. These perceptions come in many forms. The most obvious are how we dress, what we look like, who we hang out with, where we spend our free time, where we live, what our house looks like, what music we listen to, what kind of car we drive, and the list goes on and on. I do confess to utilizing one or other of these to assess, judge and react to people in particular situations. Which in retrospect is not so cool (that’s putting it rather mildly). This leads me to ask the question, “Does God care about my musical tastes? The label in my clothes? The coffee brand I drink? Of course I can’t speak for God, but based on what I understand about the Divine, I’d have to say. . .well, no.

The kingdom of God is not based on branding or human perception of acceptable practices. The kingdom of God is God’s vision, not ours. Jesus himself had the best ‘in’ on this vision. As followers of Jesus, we must emulate this vision through what we read in the Bible and practice in our lives. In the 4 translations of the Bible, here are more than 140 Kingdom references in the New Testament. Here are two to ponder:

“I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama – compared to him I’m a mere stagehand – will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. Matthew 3:11 The Message

“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you. –Matthew 5:48 The Message

Change from the inside out. Grow up. Listen to the fire that God puts in your heart. Live generously and graciously towards others they way God does for you. A little less surface, a little more grace. I’d say that’s part of the kingdom’s top ten, and those never go out of fashion.

For those who live according to the world are concerned with the things of the world, but those who live according to the kingdom of God with the things of the kingdom of God. The concern of the world is death, but the concern of the kingdom of God is life and peace. For the concern of the world is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; and those who are of the world cannot please God. — Romans 8:5-9

Trying to live for the kingdom and not for what I consume,
Deana