Needful Things


Dear Eugene,

Give me one verb.

One verb that would have you, a Christian, to go before it as the subject of the sentence and make a definitive statement about your Christian faith.  Just one.

What would that verb be?

I suspect any Christian if asked would consider this a serious question and give it some serious pondering.  And I further suspect any serious pondering on religious matter would likely trigger in the religious person a recollection of sacred sayings, however fragmentary, "orthodoxy," the "official position" that would escape the shameful or, god forbid, the heretical.

I suspect if we tally up the votes the number one choice among Christians (followers-of-Christ, I dare define) would be love.

To love.  I love.  Love God and love people, that's where we start and that's where we end.

I am not saying anyone is trying to be dishonest, but, really, is this our true answer?  Honesty has to do with actuality, what really is happening, not just how I wish it, how I would rather myself be.

I think we can test our honesty this way: now come up with another three verbs that the first verb, our supreme primal action, would necessarily engender.  Again, with I as the subject.

These would be my answers: sacrifice, change, cry.  And how about these: trust, question, resist, submit, play, delight, explore?

Of course you know what's to come next.  Yes, now come up with yet another set of three verbs for each of the three verbs we've given in the second round.  And so on, so forth.

Finally look at the set of many verbs we have in our hands and ask ourselves: in our daily living, how are we doing in our self-suggested doings?  Are these really the verbs that drive us to welcome every new morning?  Are these the ways we verb ourselves into our true identity?

Honesty.

If I am not a Christian, I would seriously doubt the official answer to the first question.  No, I don't know Christians for their love.  They might love, and they do love.  So does everyone else.  To say their every action has love in mind?  Please.  I can't even say they've tried but found wanting.  The attempts, if there, are very scattered, occasional, call for a hashtag to pinpoint and let known.

I think we can find the honest answer by playing the game backward.  Gather all the verbs that I action everyday, start with the next thing I do, the next thought I have, question my own motives, ask the Light to shine.  What do we actually do everyday?

These are some of the verifiably honest verbs I've gathered without any deep search: want, need, crave, worry, strive, detest, beg, grab, brag, choose, weigh, buy, eat, drink, whine.

Put them all together and now ask ourselves the first question again: if wanting, needing, craving, worrying and whining are the true tenets of our daily action, then what really is the one verb that marks us out as a "Christian" for our faith?

What do you say?

I would say the verb is use.  We use.  We use things, people and beings, including our religion and God, to make life work.  We "believe" because our religion is useful, usable, and user-friendly.  One time a church lady used her finger to point around the cafeteria of probably the biggest church in Vancouver to rebuke me, "Tell me, Alex, do you think anyone here would actually come if they can't expect God to do something for them?"

How I wish this is only a cynicism on my  part.

Yours, Alex

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