De-compartmentalizing (Breaking Down Linear Prioritizing)
From my conservative Christian upbringing, I know that my priorities are supposed to be God, then others, then myself. I can still hear my elementary school teacher singing, "JOY means Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last." By now, it's simply unquestioned (although still difficult to implement). As one of my teachers, Ryan, explained, this type of prioritizing is a result of our western culture, which seeks to create linear order and compartments. The problem with this compartmentalizing is that we leave things behind; we simply can't focus our energies on everything. Ironically, that theme is exactly what I was grappling with in my previous blog (Late Night Reflections Part 2). Anyway, this thinking implies that we focus most of our energy on serving and relating to God, then spend the remnants on others, and finally leaving nearly nothing for ourselves. Although at first, this seems like a virtue ("Wow, you're so selfless that you have no time for yourself! What a servant!"), as you dig into the concrete examples of this lifestyle, you see the consequences. Many Christian leaders in nonprofits and other service-oriented careers burn out and ultimately leave their work place after a few years. It turns out that leaving no time for yourself isn't so great for a lifetime. Although many Westerners in a traditional Christian setting are drilled to memorize Scripture, have quiet times, and serve others, we forget to seek personal soul care by delving into our emotions and attempting to understand ourselves through Christ's eyes.
However, we must remember that Christ hailed from a more Eastern background, so his thought process was more holistic and connected. Instead of a list of priorities, he would probably have a venn diagram of 3 circles for God, others, and self: all equal and connected. At first, this thought scared me (I'm not equal to God!), and my immediate reaction was to simply reject it and move on. However, the Great Commandment, of all places, may shine a bit more light on the concept. In Matthew 22:37-40, Christ says to, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Mt. 22:37-40 NIV). This popular verse initially seems to support the western prioritizing. However, the Greek lexicon used in this context, which NIV has translated to "like" (which I bolded in the verse above) could more accurately be translated to "same as." Now try to reread the verse. What if loving your neighbor is the same as loving yourself is the same as loving God himself? It changes everything. It seems the Jews and Old Testament Christians already believed this; they called God "YAHWEH" because they believed it was a word that you said with every breath (breath in= YAH, breath out= WEH). In other words, they believed every single inhale and exhale was a form of worship in saying the Creator's sacred name. Simply existing was worship. Everything is potentially an act of worship, even the most mundane or seemingly selfish tasks such as showering and eating. In addition, every dimension of ourselves is integrated into the larger picture of society and adoring Christ.
Exploring the theology, I still initially felt skeptical about putting God on such a casual and even playing field. Humans often devalue themselves and others for a multitude of reasons. However, the Lord combats this by affirming that he loves and venerates us more than we will ever love ourselves. He was willing to kill His only Son, an extension of himself, for us. That already elevates our status beyond my comprehension. In addition, Jesus declared to his apostles that, "'Whoever believes in me... will do even greater things than these'" (John 14:12 NIV). We have the capacity to perform greater miracles than those of the Son of God, recounted in the Gospels. Still, God is obviously higher than we are, and He deserves infinite respect and worship. He is perfect and we are not. Instead of approaching the venn diagram of God, neighbor, and self as a way to lower God to our level, it is a way to elevate ourselves and others to treat everyone as the King of the Universe. It is transformational service and love towards all, including yourself. Instead of defining "worship" as strictly singing in church or praying, every interaction and thought is worship. We often forget that the Bible clearly states that God, through the Holy Spirit, is present in every believer; we have God inside of us. In addition, every human, believer or not, is created in the image of the Maker of the Heavens. As I said, our worth is far beyond our perception. Overall, I'm learning to integrate all aspects of existence so that I can get a more consistent and palpable view of religion and life. I pray that Christ continues to reveal himself to me, in a variety of ways, more each day.
However, we must remember that Christ hailed from a more Eastern background, so his thought process was more holistic and connected. Instead of a list of priorities, he would probably have a venn diagram of 3 circles for God, others, and self: all equal and connected. At first, this thought scared me (I'm not equal to God!), and my immediate reaction was to simply reject it and move on. However, the Great Commandment, of all places, may shine a bit more light on the concept. In Matthew 22:37-40, Christ says to, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Mt. 22:37-40 NIV). This popular verse initially seems to support the western prioritizing. However, the Greek lexicon used in this context, which NIV has translated to "like" (which I bolded in the verse above) could more accurately be translated to "same as." Now try to reread the verse. What if loving your neighbor is the same as loving yourself is the same as loving God himself? It changes everything. It seems the Jews and Old Testament Christians already believed this; they called God "YAHWEH" because they believed it was a word that you said with every breath (breath in= YAH, breath out= WEH). In other words, they believed every single inhale and exhale was a form of worship in saying the Creator's sacred name. Simply existing was worship. Everything is potentially an act of worship, even the most mundane or seemingly selfish tasks such as showering and eating. In addition, every dimension of ourselves is integrated into the larger picture of society and adoring Christ.
Exploring the theology, I still initially felt skeptical about putting God on such a casual and even playing field. Humans often devalue themselves and others for a multitude of reasons. However, the Lord combats this by affirming that he loves and venerates us more than we will ever love ourselves. He was willing to kill His only Son, an extension of himself, for us. That already elevates our status beyond my comprehension. In addition, Jesus declared to his apostles that, "'Whoever believes in me... will do even greater things than these'" (John 14:12 NIV). We have the capacity to perform greater miracles than those of the Son of God, recounted in the Gospels. Still, God is obviously higher than we are, and He deserves infinite respect and worship. He is perfect and we are not. Instead of approaching the venn diagram of God, neighbor, and self as a way to lower God to our level, it is a way to elevate ourselves and others to treat everyone as the King of the Universe. It is transformational service and love towards all, including yourself. Instead of defining "worship" as strictly singing in church or praying, every interaction and thought is worship. We often forget that the Bible clearly states that God, through the Holy Spirit, is present in every believer; we have God inside of us. In addition, every human, believer or not, is created in the image of the Maker of the Heavens. As I said, our worth is far beyond our perception. Overall, I'm learning to integrate all aspects of existence so that I can get a more consistent and palpable view of religion and life. I pray that Christ continues to reveal himself to me, in a variety of ways, more each day.
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