October 18, 2004
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Life or Lifeless?
Last night I heard a sermon where one of the main points was: “Christians should be the life of the party, but instead we’re often lifeless.” Also in the sermon: “As Christians, we should not get used to the plight of the poor and needy.” Those two concepts don’t blend well in my mind — they keep separating like oil and wine, and the mix needs constant rah-rah shaking to be palatable.
When I think “life of the party,” I think of someone immensely happy, spilling out carefree laughter to everyone else around. Not someone who’s thinking of the poor bathing in sewer water in Calcutta.
How can someone possibly hold both concepts in their mind: to be fully happy while being fully aware of someone else’s suffering? I can come up with only a few explanations:
- Monastic
Separate yourself from the world and interact only with other monks. I think the majority of church-goers lives this way. - Salesman
I don’t know what goes on in the mind of a salesman, but I get the sense of talking to plastic. Hard to see the real person, or his heart, if there is one. - Lunatic
Maybe the result of too much cognitive dissonance. The volume of their shouting is never enough to drown out the quiet whispers inside. - Servant
This quiet joy is not what most would call “life of the party.” But it’s the only way I can reconcile full joy and full awareness.
- Monastic
Comments (7)
perhaps the secret to both is to constantly remember that which has been done for you. and Who did it.
hmm. i know what you mean. i almost followed your graph! haha. it got me thinking about those people who somehow pull it off…like, they have this deep compassion for those who suffer and can genuinely enter into others’ pain, and yet unabashedly CELEBRATE a God of mercy, hope, and redemption. it’s like there’s no separation between suffering and joy, there is celebration amongst the suffering. and i guess maybe this is quiet joy, but sometimes it can be loud too?
yeah, they may not be the center of attention–but they are the LIFE of the party!
When I think “life of the party”, I think of words like: zest for life, exuberant, enthusiastic, in-the-moment. I don’t think those things are incompatible with empathy and compassion at all.
Maybe the point is that in our cocooned Christian lives we get so comfortable and self-absorbed that we become numb from lack of meaningful mental/social/spiritual stimulation… we aren’t able to muster up any enthusiasm for what’s going on in our lives, or challenge ourselves to devote ourselves to something we’re passionate about.
maybe it’s not right to call on all christians to be the life of the party
i mean, some people are naturally shy, and always will be, and that’s OK with me. unless you want to distribute Paxil or Zoloft at church, maybe we shouldn’t go overboard in defining what a Christian should be like. there are some essential things, but you have to leave a lot of room for individual variation and diversity
“Christians should be the life of the party, but instead we’re often lifeless”
i’m not sure i agree with this characterization. there are a lot of shy christians, but there are also a lot of crazy ones.
ok i take these previous two comments back. i’m probably missing the point of the sermon
maybe these shy christians should drink a little more alcohol at parties? there’s nothing less fun than a shy christian who is a teetotaler
1 Peter 4 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
i think as a Christian we can rejoice in sufferings…we can be the life of the party, be rejoicing in the midst of trial, in the midst of being on the streets of Calcutta. its not easy, but is possible. it depends on our attitude and whether it is tuned in with Jesus.