"What is normal?" We have all asked this question at some time in our lives and we have all heard the fun little catchy ironic phrases like; "being weird" is true normality and "being conformed" is abnormal. While there is much truth to this it is still unsatisfying and full of holes. Charles Manson is anything but a conformist. He is as wild and exotic as a dodo bird and he is absolutely abnormal. There are 88 keys on a piano, perfectly situated both visibly and tonaly. It is also (nearly) precise in it's tuning and yet a piano is anything but normal. It is a marvel of hundreds of years of invention. There is nothing in creation like it.I think that what we really are asking is "what is sane and what is insane" I would argue that the life of a Christian offers the greatest example of what is sane whereas a life of Sin is the ultimate representation of insanity. You can be as wonderful as God created you to be, totally out of the normal-everyday-step and be completely sane because you walk in the Light.
In truth, you will actually be more wonderful, abnormal and free than you ever dreamed when you walk in this Light. There is this horrible lie going around Christian communities that conforming to the likeness of Christ means loosing ones fantastic personality traits, including dreams, talents, gifts, AND joy. What we actually loose is our insanity, our sinful self, not our personality and gifts. Would God create a flower and expect it to never bloom? (He might my black thumbs where it's caretaker) NOOOO!!! Religious extremism, usually spurred from the lie that God won't love us unless we give up our gifts for him in some sacrificial way, usually encourages us to be everything else but who we are. "Obedience is greater than sacrifice" Because obedience is His will. Now, I realize that some people are called out of something that they love to do, sing, dance, write, crochet, because God has some specific task for them. But when He does these rare things he usually uses the talents he has given you, including some you have yet to discover to achieve His goal. Anyway, I digress...
When we sin we actually are insane. Sin is the total opposite state of mind and soul that God has created for us therefore it is insane. How many of us have felt the desolate aloneness of the aftermath of sin? Depression, anxiety, loneliness, fear, doubt... Depression is the most self-absorbed state of mind that you can immagine. You are ONLY thinking about yourself. This is not what God had in mind for our mind.
One thing to quickly clarify. I am not speaking of people with medical conditions such as schizophrenia or Altzheimers. These are results of a physical and chemical imbalance out of the control of the individual's will to choose. But at the same time is not sickness and ailments still a result of the fall? (at the same time being very careful not to judge the mentally disabled simply stating that it is not what God intended and is a product and result of that choice in the Garden, OR stating that getting a cold means you are sinning).
Before Jeffrey dimmer was murdered in prison, he put his faith in Christ, was sorry for his sin, and repented and started going to Church. He actually started to go to church. This is hard for us to accept. We want to point our finger and call him an abnormal animal. He was living in a world that sin and right and wrong had no meaning to him which is REALLY what made him insane. King David was experienced total insanity when he plotted to have Bathsheba's Hubby murdered. It is not Charles Manson's incredibly creative mind that is abnormal it is his divulging into sin, self and the occult that has flung him into a world of insanity.
Our Father who made us from nothing made us fearfully and wonderfully. He made us to be see Him and to be united with Him. Therein lies our Joy, our sanity.
God wants us to see him just as His angels and the Saints in Heaven see him as Jesus said "they behold the face of my heavenly Father continually" (Mt 18:10). He wants us to gaze forever upon His unveiled face, our wills united to His in love so utterly that sin is not possible to us. And in that life, we are fully ourselves with all our wonderful "abnormalities" and every power in fullest operation, utterly fulfilled. THAT is freedom my friends.
So be as abnormal as God has made you to be, but walk in the Light as He is in the light. A beautiful abbeynormality awaits....
9 comments:
Soooo bout them bears....
A few things here...
First, seeing the whole "Abbey Normal" thing reminded me that when you did your movie list recently, nobody mentioned "Young Frankenstein", which is definitely an wonderful classic.
Secondly, as usual, a very good article. In particular I like your idea that we don't have to stop being what God made us to be just because we are now in a right relationship with Him. If anything, we should feel much more freedom now that we are truly free, rather than less freedom, which seems to be what is expected oftentimes by the church today.
Third, if you're wondering about the lack of comments... I can't speak for everyone else, but for me, hey... it's summertime, the weather is fantastic here in Tennessee (and has been for a few months now), and there are just too many fun and exciting things going on to have much time to catch up with my on-line friends. If I didn't have a job that involves the internet, and gives me a chance during my breaks to visit my on-line hangouts, then I would probably never be able to keep up.
I know, I love young frankenstein. Did you know that they are going to try and remake that??? what are they thinking?
As far as internet activity, no I was actually not expecting anything much. There is not much activity anywhere in the blogosphere. I was starting to think the rapture had taken place and Amber and I just missed the boat. According to the left behind books, that will be happening alot.
About Nashville, I love the weather there. So envious. Such a beautiful town. We will be going there in early August so maybe we can drop by.
Seth - You're coming through here! Awesome. Early August is probably the hottest time of year here, you know... but by Texas standards, even the worst weather here isn't too bad. ;-)
I will write you an e-mail in the near future, we must begin a dialogue about your visit here. There is fun to be had. My opportunity to extend extreme hospitality must be seized!
I have to say that the reason I didn't respond is because all I could think of to say was,
Yeah, right on.
It's a great post, and I'm with C-Hammer about what he liked about the article. Ditto.
I also like the idea that being in a right relationship with Christ is being sane. Which allows and welcomes our own personalities and idiosyncracies to simply be as we walk with Christ. He's not looking to change that, he's looking to make us sane by removing the distance between us and God.
So I guess I could have responded with that all earlier. Oh well, there it is.
isn't it wierd? some of my "healthiest" times (most sane times) have been when I know that I am not healthy; when I know my sin the most. Some of my most "unhealthy" times (most insane times have been when I think I'm ok - when I ignore these little gloomy weights that tempt me and cloud my mind in the very silence of my interior life. No one else knows about these things, only me. So who can tell me (without a discerning spirit) when I am sane or not?
The beauty of being a Christian: to know your utter helplessness and in turn to know the absolute victory of Christ. In the religion of our culture I think it is easy to be so consumed with busyness, so entrenched in the American dream of this house and that car - all coming into this great life, the life our culture so highly esteems as "success" (sp?). And in this successful life, the weakness of our sin gets forgoten. In our grunt of established pride and our endless effort to look good, in whatever our endevour might be, we continually tell ourselves, in the face of our weakness that we are not really like that, we are not really that weak because we fear this weakness, this absolute helplessness by some delusion that we really are not human. So somewhere in this journey to life abundant we become gods of our own existence. Little by little we are shrouded in the lie that we are fine, that we need nothing. And so we stop asking, we stop pleading for God's help, we loose the fire kindled in us whenever we knew we were desperate. And then we only stand upon the external triumph of our self-proclaimed sanity. We say, "Look!! I am sane, and healthy, and an upright person, and see, society, I can stand on my own two feet. See! I am not a burden to you!" (I can only speak of this state because I have experienced it first hand.)
Anyway, I know that's dramatic, but I think I am saying that the most peace I have felt is when I know my sin and insanity the most, but when I am utterly engulfed in the arms of Jesus; when I know it is Him holding me; when it has to be Him. I so often ride on the darkness that I am ok; i'm not like those crazies in prison: jeffory damer, etc. I'm different from those who loose their temper and kill people etc, etc. No, the freeing truth is that all of that is in me and only Christ will save me from it. And I think this is what keeps me thirstyand hungering and knowing that my life is a dust of a moment and that He will reign in His kingdom soon and nothing of my "success" can I take with me. But again, so often I forget this. Even as I'm writing I'm remembering it. Thanks for the blog to remind me brotha!
" No, the freeing truth is that all of that is in me and only Christ will save me from it. And I think this is what keeps me thirstyand hungering."
So true my friend. When we realize that it is God that we are thirsting for and all other sustanance will evetually kill us then we start to understand freedom. This is what we were made for. Him. There is a reason that Jesus constantly refered to Himself as food and that anyone who drinks and eats of Him will have life and life more abundant.
Anything else is poison. Some poisons take longer to kill us but those are the ones to be really worried about and constantly watching out for. Pride, Vanity,...
What is pride and Vanity? A self-proclaimed lordship. Just like you said when you were talking about how we are constantly trying to prove to the world that we are "okay" because we are soooo successful at our business, have the big car, the big house the fake blonde wife with the big fake boobs.
It is this realization how bad I need Him that keeps me Sane and at his feet daily.
Baca,
Man, such great stuff. You said that in the religion of our culture, we are "so entrenched in the American dream of this house and that car - all coming into this great life, the life our culture so highly esteemed as "success"." And then later, "we only stand upon the external triumph of our self-proclaimed sanity."
And that's just it. The triumph is external. We have not feasted any more on Christ, but much more on ourselves. And the sanity is self-proclaimed and false. We end up empty. It's a life that is trying to keep up with the others that seem to be ahead. And the fear is that I will lack what others have. That I'll miss out. That I'm perceived as a failure. I forget where to make my home, where to abide. Puffed-up emptiness.
love you guys!
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