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| Letting Go of Control and Listening to the Spirit by Joshua Yesterday a friend and I were driving on a street through downtown Chicago’s lower level. The underground area is a system designed to make it easier for commercial vehicles to deliver goods to large businesses and to access the ports along lake Michigan without being caught up in residential traffic. As we were riding through this area several thoughts came to mind. First, it is amazing that we as humans are capable of building such complex street networks, buildings, cities, and nations that even function at all. The massive nature of our endeavors is reminiscent of the ancient Hebrew story about the Tower of Babel. Secondly, I was reflecting on Gary Will’s analysis of the fall of the Roman Empire. I came to the conclusion that it would be impossible to defend our homeland from “terrorism.” There are a million weaknesses that are exposed at any given time; ports, buildings, hotels, subways, trains, buses, etc. It would be impossible to stop someone from hitting these types of targets if they were committed to doing so. Our claim to international hegemony, our exercise of power, our wars of occupation and imperialism, these are precisely the things that enfeeble the United States and weaken our “homeland security.” The government and powerful elite would wish for us to believe that there is an international terrorist conspiracy, just like the former communist conspiracy, to take over the whole world and destroy that everything that is good and holy- the values of freedom that we hold so dear. But this fear mongering is based more on paranoia than on reality and “terrorism” (most often a rebuttal to injustice) is only increased by the violence we wield at every edge of empire. Another example of power enfeebling can be seen in the Israel/Palestine conflict. I am also reminded of Proverbs 17:19- He who loves a quarrel loves sin; he who builds a high gate invites destruction. Israel has occupied, divided, and surrounded Palestinians with high gates, tanks, and machine guns. The result is violence that not only weakens the Israeli state, but also destroys the lives of Israelis and countless Palestinians. “The power to destroy- to wound, to sever bridges, to end lives- is easily wielded.” This assertion made by Gary Will has proven very true in my life. It is much easier to spend my time self- destructing than it is to work constructively. It’s easy for me to be a pessimist, but it is much harder to get motivated to change the very things I am pessimistic about. Almost anyone can see the problems; it’s much harder to become part of the solution. I have also found truth in the statement that “yielding empowers.” For example, I have learned through countless failures not to engage another in an angry argument, but to withdraw from the conversation and pray for Christ’s resolution. I may temporarily be embarrassed, but a more fruitful result to the conflict comes about in time. Also, I have given up some trivial pleasures that most often served to paralyze my spiritual and personal growth- watching tv, smoking pot, etc. In these situations, letting go of the temporal satisfaction allows me to filled with a deeper and more lasting joy- yielding empowers! Whenever I have let go of my possessions, security, or the comfort of family for the gospel, God has always fulfilled the promise to provide substantially more than what I left behind. Zimbabwe is one example of that. Or take marriage for another example; one gives up quite a bit of freedom by entering into marriage, but the reward of leaving that freedom is more than worth the sacrifice. In conlcusion, I have found that whenever I try to exercise power over another or even in my life, I am weakened. However, when I let go of control and listen to the Spirit, I am empowered to live a more christlike life. |