Sunday, April 1, 2012

Finding comfort in the uncomfortable

"But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin."-The Savage

Who knew I would actually enjoy one of the readings I had for my ethics class?? Last night at work I was doing my homework at my desk...usual...and I came across this quote. For anyone who hasn't read the novel "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley, don't worry, I haven't either. Just an excerpt from it it entitled, "The Utilitarian Social Engineer and the Savage" It is a story about a man, the Savage, who challenges this 'big brother' type of government that challenges the idea of needing any sort of religion because it creates discontent and eliminates the possibility for a sort of Utopia.

So maybe I'm bad at explaining the reading, I'll get back to you once I get the summary from my professor tomorrow! The idea that religion creates controversy is all around us. But is that so bad? The Bible tells us that life won't be easy(John 16:33) and that is just what this quote is saying. The Savage rejects the opportunity to live a perfectly happy life in order to have religion in his life.

But what makes it ok that sin exists, that fear and discomfort exist, is the fact that God has forgiven us for our sins. And the idea that God allows certain things to happen so we can learn from them. Some of life's greatest moments come from it's hardest ones.

My life hasn't been easy. Far from it. But not one point in my life would I trade for a perfect moment if that meant I had to give up my faith. What I learn from death, rejection, divorce, fights with friends, any hardship I have had or will have, is what makes life worth living. Like the Savage said, I want freedom, I want real danger because that is when I learn the most. I'm not saying I want to jump off a cliff and see what happens, but putting myself in new, uncomfortable situations might be just what I need. I can develop my faith through the unknown.

I don't have any specific Bible verse at this point to give you, I don't think I would even know what "genre" of a verse I would give you because this comes from my heart(cheesy I know). But truly, as a woman of faith, I know that situations where I risk messing up, I risk sin or discomfort, are what will bring me closer to my God who loves me despite my sins.

I'm not sure if this was how I was supposed to analyze my Ethics homework...especially since the reading was about 15 pages and this was just one sentence towards the end of the passage. I urge whoever is reading this though, to try and live through the discomfort, through the danger and freedom to a better life. A Christ-like life. It'd be hard to say no to a "perfectly happy" life if someone offered it to me like what happened to the Savage(fictional story let me remind you) but I would have to politely reject it. There is no satisfaction in having happiness handed to you. It's your experiences that create happiness...you know the saying "happiness isn't a destination, it's a journey" applies here. That journey has its trials as well, but no doubt guarantees happiness as well.

If you get a chance, this is the excerpt I read from my Ethics book. It's chapter's 15-17, a little bit of a long read but if you find yourself absolutely confused by my description go ahead and give it a read. It will be worth it.

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