got my grumpy pants on today.
"god wants me to stop doing and to just be"
if i hear it again, i'll scream.
god does not want us to stop doing and to "just be"
why? does this mean we need to work really hard?
no, god doesn't want that because ... "BEING" IS NOT THE OPPOSITE OF DOING.
say it loud, say it proud, say it ten thousand times out loud.
"just be" is wrong because it gives assent to the unbiblical idea that somehow the true and deep spiritual practices don't involve our body.
the opposite of a life of scattered activity is a life of focused activity. the opposite of a life with no rest is a life with a rhythm of rest and work. the opposite of trying to get god's love through activity is a life of giving god's love away. none of these are "just being".
we use the words "just be" as a cute turn of phrase, but it's a smarmy cloying cuteness which we needed to smile at the way you smile at a cute thing a kid said, not a deep spiritual insight.
fear the power of the grumpy pants.
Great post Michael! Thanks for wearing the (fearful!) grumpy pants!
~ Keith
Posted by: Keith Seckel | Monday, January 22, 2007 at 03:54 PM
I agree Mr. Pants.
And I'm also looking forward to taking a few of our students on our "Just Be Retreat" in the Spring.
:-)
Posted by: Damien O'Farrell | Monday, January 22, 2007 at 10:01 PM
thank you, i needed this!
the part about them not being opposites is what unlocked it for me. i have been guilty of the "just be" mantra just because i have swung from the 'purpose driven' doo-do to the opposite end of the spectrum as a reaction to the lack of 'be-be'. both, hand in hand are a far better balance. great post!
Posted by: bobbie | Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at 05:47 AM
Hmm..I think it's both-and. In the midst of everything you said, there is still room to "just be." To sit at God's feet and soak Him in. To not have to say or do anything. Of course worship is a verb, you know I agree wholeheartedly with that...body, soul and spirit in action. With all of that, there can (and dare I say "should"?) be time for the beauty of contemplation where we are doing nothing but breathing Him in. It was incredibly freeing for me when years ago I finally "got" that God would still love me if I never did another thing for Him as long as I lived. Unfortunately, there are countless people in the Body of Christ who have no clue that that is true, so the "just be" idea is revelatory for them, and not a cute, overworn phrase as it might be for some of us who have been around those thoughts for a long time. Just my musings on a random Tuesday.
Posted by: NIna | Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at 04:10 PM
"just be" is used for many things. it is common langauge for this problem of learning to unplug from the "god's favor flows on those who work for him" machine. i completely agree with the criticism of the machine and am glad that the language is helpful. but there are ways that the language is unhelpful.
it is a weird eastern mystical idea that our created role is to bask in the presence of the creator. that is not christianity. christianity is an incarnate eschatology (sorry for the $5 words, vli is messing me up for speaking regular language). look at the metaphors used: we are moving, we are racing, we are fighting. the hero's of the faith were not the ones who were the most still, who "just were".
"let go and let god" would be in the same class of sayings. things that have some sort of helpful meaning in a certain context, but if you take it as a central metaphor for understanding life, produces a non-christian life style.
Posted by: Michael Toy | Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 02:39 PM
doo be doo beee dooo.
Posted by: paul | Friday, January 26, 2007 at 07:05 PM