Yesterday somebody got me to thinking about divine discontent. He was in favor of it. I hear caution bells. Discerning the difference between the personality's desire and one's spiritual desire is a Solomonaic task I believe, one requiring much soul searching and prayer. It is easier to act impulsively with a rush of good emotion; that often times ends up with the unintended consequence of having a large ego blast as a hangover!
If one is to get mobilized to action or fired up for some cause, it seems to me that the script of the drama ought to be a spiritual one -- not to be confused with a psychologically/politically correct Morals play that has one cast as saving the world: Christ already did that.
Action prompted by spiritual drive is not worldly, by definition. The result most assuredly would reverberate in the world, but the originating idea put into action... ahh...there's the rub: Judas got that mixed up...and he was not alone. A good many well meaning Jews thought Jesus came to be their physical king so that their lives and the worldly kingdom would change. Not so.
Our egocentric selves feel grand and holy when we are part of a great cause, a drama for the world... giving money or time to a poverty stricken tribe overseas for example. Not that that is a wrong use of casting our bread on the waters, but why is it harder to put our hands out in friendship with a burger to the hungry person loitering at the dumpster 'round midnight at McDonald's? That kind of act would be facing the poor up close and personal in all the gritty reality, stripped of any attendant glamor. It could be scary AND nobody would see you. Nobody would know except that one lost sheep and ...of course, the Good Shepherd.
How many times a day do we have chances to sing in harmony with our divine purpose and we don't hear the notes because ...well, because maybe they don't seem quite grand enough?
I think we should question our own motives about so much emphasis on the big picture until the little picture is tenderly nurtured... That focus could be a major rationalization. What is the saying? "Bloom where you are planted." God planted me here in this nation that does still have problems -- in this state that does still have problems -- in this town that does still have problems -- in this family that does still have problems...inside this "me" that does still have problems!
Divine discontent ends when one accepts that Christ is the way and that He lives in you. You are no longer disconnected from your source or your god ... because of His grace, because of Calvary.
I wonder if a motivational speaker urging worldly action is feeling his/her own need for spiritual maturation deeply enough to mistake the personal desire with a spiritual calling...and then attempt to urge others to save-the-physical-world.....perhaps there is some vicarious need being filled. Perhaps that speaker is the one who needs to act instead of preaching action ... I don't really know...Just wondering if perhaps at the crux of the matter is that the cross tends to urge all of us to shift roles as our understanding deepens and/or our comfort level gets a tad too comfortable. Might be worth thinking about...
