Re-thinking Ordinary

I went to college during a time (and I suspect things are still this way) when young people were encouraged to “Do big things for God” and “Not settle for an ordinary life” and to do the “radical” thing. I read John Piper’s book “Don’t Waste Your Life” and when the chapter on missions opened with the words “God is closing in on some of you” I felt like that must in fact be what was happening…because I felt really moved and even kind of guilty when all the statistics of unreached people groups were shared. And short-term mission trips were often touted as the height of the Christian college experience. You have classes to take over the summer? You have bills to pay and need to work? You just need to take a step of faith because you may never have an opportunity like this again. Ironically, some of these trips were supposed to prepare you for sharing your faith in “the real world,” while the unspoken message was that real ministry happens in a special context, and that carrying out your duties with school and finances is simply not trusting God with your future.

I’m not knocking all mission trips. I don’t doubt that good things come from them. I know that they afford opportunities for personal growth and being stretched in new ways.

But I wonder. Could the emphasis upon doing these big things be doing more harm than good? Does the radical message that young people hear over the course of four years (or longer if you grow up in youth group) really line up with what the narrative of Scripture points to?

For thirty years Jesus didn’t do much that seemed very radical. He was pretty much an ordinary guy, doing an ordinary job. Why do we tell eighteen year-olds that they have to do big things now, as if gaining wisdom and experience before boarding a plane to a place they’ve never been to share the Gospel in a language they don’t know is somehow wrong? 

I wonder too, if this culture of big experiences—of retreats and conferences and mission trips and just getting-a-degree-in-anything-so-I-can-do-missions-some-day (it happens more than you might think. Heck, I did it too.) might actually be feeding into our natural bent towards impatience and instant gratification. Think about it. A short-term trip provides all the glamor and adventure with no long-term commitment to a people or place. Switching majors from pre-med or engineering to major in “missions” might sound more spiritual, but could it also be motivated by laziness? And might those other fields offer the potential for greater service and generosity in Christ’s name in the long run? And how does just getting a degree in just anything so you can do missions one day really prepare you to serve others well? Oh, hey, African people…I’m here! Aren’t you glad to see me! I don’t really have any skills to offer you, and I can’t really communicate with you (although, for the record, I do have a degree in Communications), but we can hang out and stuff…

I used to recoil in disgust from the idea of living a “normal American life.” I wanted to go to the hard places and do the hard things. I think I really did have a desire to obey and serve Christ; I often just discounted all the ways I could do that right where I was. For all the times I heard "You can be a missionary right where you are," and believed it on some level, part of me still thought that that's just something people say to make themselves feel better. So, I went on the mission trips. I learned some stuff and shared the Gospel with some people (who, unfortunately, I have no contact with now). Then, I finished school and got married, and now, in many ways, my life looks exactly like I determined it never would. We even have a white picket fence (oh, the horror!). Granted, it’s falling over and our yard is brown and scorched from the Texas heat, but it’s a white picket fence, nonetheless. 

But you know what? This is a good life. And Geoff and I are daily learning how to follow Jesus right where we are. Not in a settling-for-less-it'll-do- kind of way either. These words from James Bryan Smith and Lynda Graybeal capture this goodness:

"Contrary to what some people think...God does not confine his affirmation of human activity to those actions we consider "religious," important as they are. By growing up in a family and taking part in everyday human activities such as working, eating, laughing, eating, washing, talking, and more, Jesus put his imprimatur, his "stamp of approval" on every aspect of human life. Nothing was exempt; everything received equal honor.

Likewise, Jesus affirmed our vocations, both blue-collar and white-collar, by becoming an ordinary laboroer--a carpenter--and a teacher--a rabbi...In the Incarnation, God affirmed the value of human life and the goodness of the entire material world." -A Spiritual Formation Workbook, p. 69-70

I’ve had to re-think how I view the Christian life and one thing I’ve had to admit to myself is that my desire to do big things and have an impact was driven in large part by the desire to feel significant. And the motivation to feel important and significant is drawn towards words like radical and runs from words like ordinary. The desire to make an impact might have more to do with boosting my self-esteem than it does with calling or vocation or long-term commitment. It’s not that these desires are wrong. They are wired into all of us. I think we just need to be honest with ourselves and help others to be honest with themselves too. Because if you can really see the motivation behind something you want to do, it can help you see if it’s really the wisest choice. But we also need to realize that we are already a part of a story that gives our lives significance. We don’t have to chase that significance down. We need to realize that by virtue of entrusting our lives to Christ we have become a part of His plan to redeem the world. He said “You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the world.” I want to emphasize two things: YOU and ARE. That’s you and me. Right where we are, right now, even in our most ordinary and boring moments. He has declared it to be so. We can improve upon how we live up to that reality, but it’s already a fact. Not you will be. Not you are if you do XYZ-Big Thing. You are. 

This passage probably isn’t often quoted in college ministries:

                Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 ESV)

I guess it’s just not EPIC enough. So, what’s my point? I’m not exactly sure. That’s why this is a blog post and not a book.