Copyright ©2020 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved.
As I was engaged in a recent contemplation, I took notice that when someone feels jealous of another's life, possessions, or status, they are often totally ignoring or forgetting about their own value, path, and soul growth. As people begin to feel and understand their value, envy and jealousy tends to fade away. And sometimes, life throws in a little bit of chaos to help us come to this understanding.
Let us use two common examples to approach our theme today. First, let us consider a marching band, especially one from an HBCU. For all that we could say about them, let us focus primarily on the halftime show. There is certainly a lot involved when the marching band takes the field. Often, the band members come to the field from different sides. They often march, making elaborate patterns while playing contemporary music. And, of course, the drum majors are putting on a show while the band marches and plays.
To a novice, this jumble of activity could seem chaotic and mind-blowing, except for the fact that, at precise intervals, the band members snap from random paths into a discernable pattern; doing this multiple times over the course of a performance.
If you focus on one player, or if you focus on the drum major, one could lose sight of the overarching pattern that emerges from the chaos. And, if a player forgets the choreography or, say, throws hateful stares a the drum major, he can mess up the whole routine!
Similarly, let us consider the dancers from the chorus in a Broadway play. While the main players are singing the dialogue and dancing, the chorus players jump in from the wings, spin and dance, and whisk away, doing this repeatedly throughout the show. They are as much a part of the show as the main actors, but should a chorus member mess us, the whole play is affected.
I raise these examples because, to the novice, the pleasingly intricate choreographed movements from the "regular people" can look like a jumbled mess, unless they are seen in the larger context. From that perspective, the beautiful pattern emerges, but only if every participant is in his/her place, doing his/her thing at the right time. These, in short, are examples of order amid chaos.
In the context of our daily lives, many of us sometimes feel lost in a chaotic world, perhaps even questioning the point or validity of our own existence, perhaps wishing (or even envying) someone else who seems to be out front, or seems to have what we want, even if that "it" is simply the ability to balance the challenges of life. But, we all must come to understand that, even if things are not going our way at any given time, even if someone else's life or possessions seem more exciting or desirable than our own, everyone is important, everyone's life has value, and there is purpose in the chaos.
Paul's epistle to the members at Corinth deals with this very notion from the very source of this apparent diversity. 1st Corinthians 12:
[4] Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
[5] And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
[6] And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
But, perhaps the most poignant of his exhortation is verse 7:
[7] But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.1
In other words, everyone has a set of spiritual gifts given to him/her for their benefit, given to him/her to help others, and, quite frankly, so that one may experience the highest pleasure and joy in life.
However, God has caused the initial life experience to be one of effort and discovery. Even with these gifts, they are bestowed initially in potential form. We must first accept that they exist, accept that we have them, and accept the effort required to discover them, learn how to use them, then share them with others for the benefit of all.
Solomon, "the Preacher" tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:
[10] I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
[11] He hath made every thing beautiful in His time: also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
In other words, the beauty of life is concealed by the chaos of living! It is the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!
Even in the time of Moses, he would often say, "God let this random thing happen... and that random thing happen... that they may know that He is God." There is purpose in the chaos.
Implied throughout Moses' sermons and onward is the common watchword and slogan, "Hear!" This is not simply receiving the auditory stimulus, but it is actively listening, i.e. to perceive the whole by putting the pieces together. This is the spiritual work that we are called to do. Indeed, it is the whole point of life itself!
Unfortunately, most people have tended to pursue their spiritual gifts very little, if at all. Perhaps compelled by society's constant bias towards polarism, perhaps emboldened by ego to be "better than" others, perhaps misguided or distracted by the drive to accumulate material possessions, titles, and other status symbols, many are stuck in an endless and pointless cycle of competition, vacillating between two poles (have and have not, win or lose), constantly striving, but not achieving much.
Summing up Solomon's exhortation, "What's the point in continuing to do this, day after day, week after week, year after year?" The chaos has got us going in circles... Some focus their attention on heaping up riches; but know not who shall gather them...
For those who have found their life's calling, or who have discovered and have started developing and using their gifts, there is nothing more fulfilling that using them to help someone else, or to discover sublime truths about the self, the Cosmos, and God.
However, for many of us, the certainty of this discovery eludes us. And, because life's daily challenges often seem haphazard, chaotic, and feel draining, we wonder why our life is a mess and wonder (sometimes with trepidation) whether we'll ever get it together, whether we'll ever feel satisfied, complete, or fulfilled. Some of us think back on past hurts and mistakes, and worry whether we'll ever get over them. We look back to the actions of those who hurt us and wonder if we can ever forgive the offender. We look at ourselves being stuck in place by these old pains, mistakes, and fear and wonder if we can even forgive ourselves!
We look at others who seem to have it together... they have more money... they are (we think) more attractive than we are... they have a desirable spouse or romantic love interest... They have a nice house/car... good job. It seems like everything they do, they have success (or just have fun). The things they seem to worry about... we only WISH we had such trivial burdens. They seem to have the life that we want... but do they, really?
And, while we look outwardly at others, if we're not careful, we can find ourselves sliding down a slippery slope of resentment, covetousness, envy, and jealousy... upset about what we see across the street. While we're preoccupied with the little bit we can see of others, we let our own house become a filthy mess and let weeds grow in our yard. The sad part is... if this happens, it wasn't because the other person did this to us; we let it happen to ourselves! Envy and jealousy diminishes the other person--only in our own eyes; but worse, it leaves our mess unattended, and it leaves us vulnerable to be further controlled by the influence of Satan.
In such a state, we become like the lost band member wandering aimlessly on the field, or like the confused chorus player who jumps into the scene at the wrong time. By the time we recognize it, everyone else has already noticed.
At such times, we ceded control of our own lives, the only thing in life that we have any control over, falling victim to an imaginary reality; becoming lost in the chaos!
Yes, indeed, life can seem like an unfair, chaotic mess, with no end to the trouble in sight! But, I say again, there is purpose in the chaos! And YOU have a purpose in the chaos! In spite of the feel-good and prosperity teachings that are popular today, the truth is that some things are not for me/you. We are not here to do any and everything. Some of us are wasting precious years on earth trying to experience everything there is to have and do, but Israel especially was called to be a peculiar people.2 Everything is not for everybody, and everything is not for you!
Having said that, some things are not for you--YET! We read stories in the Bible about people (e.g. Joseph) who were destined for greatness, but who would have to work and wait for it! But, even that preparation process had a purpose, enabling them time to develop the capacity to receive their bestowal and the wisdom to know what to do with it.
As Joseph said of his situation, "What you meant for evil, God meant it for good, to keep much people alive!"
Trust and believe that the grass is not greener... Some of the challenges set before us to overcome are tailor made for us. They compel us to develop a prayer life, they compel us to draw out our inner strength... to feel genuine compassion for self or others who press on through this chaos. Our challenges compel us to employ out-of-the-box thinking and ingenuity to solve problems that we never thought we could overcome. Sometimes, our challenges provide the simple, primal motivation to make a better life (e.g. for the sake of our children). Thus, while we endure and press on in this crucible of life, we are literally becoming, literally fulfilling our purpose in the chaos in real time and in living duration.
Without these plagues straining us, what incentive would we have to move, to grow, and change? But sometimes, we give in to despair, we get tired of being challenged, stretched, or knocked down... If we lose sight of the big picture, we can grow envious of others who continue to struggle and are having some success. And, just like that, we're the trumpet player straying off course, or the chorus line member who was too late exiting the stage.
We're messing up the intricate beauty of God's creation i.e. our own selves, not because God's work is not good, but because we don't yet see the end result, and we don't take it on faith enough to keep doing our part to become a better self.
Everybody significant in and every major event in our lives did not come to us by accident. It has been part of God's plan to develop us slowly, gradually... so that we could discover, pursue, and live out our purpose in the chaos!
So, even if you're stuck in sadness, in despair, in envy and jealousy, in old hurts, haunted by past mistakes, crippled by low self esteem, halted by fear and trembling... "If from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him..."3 When you find Him, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart... He shall direct thy paths"4 to fulfill your purpose!
1See also 1st Corinthians 12:14-26
2See Exodus 19:3-6
3See Deuteronomy 4:29
2See Proverbs 3:5-6
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