Living Spiritual Rhythms–August 19

I’m authentic and am valuable. I don’t have value and I’m inauthentic. Solution: God offers a new identity to the proud and worthless. Problem: This portrayal of ‘I’ is too either/or and both here are negative – arrogance or no self-worth. Neither pole is realistic, but nevertheless all too often promoted in Christian circles as the type of ‘I’ one is. While it’s true there is a need for a new identity in that no ‘I’ can be Christ like, this shouldn’t be based on reductionistic views of ‘I.’ A truer portrayal of ‘I’ should be configured as more of a mixture – hybrid – of possibilities, since ‘I’s’ can neither scientifically, nor theologically be reduced to a negative either/or. Each ‘I’ is far too complex for that. Generally speaking, when taking an evolutionary stance, for example, an ‘I’ is not solely selfishly arrogant, nor entirely without worth concerning survival, but is basically cooperative in order to enhance the sustainability of life. A theological orientation equally confirms that an ‘I’ has tremendous value and the capacity to accomplish things as an image of God, while recognizing ‘I’ has both positive and negative dimensions, thus not as the false polarizations would have it. Being and doing is a marvel; so much to take appropriate pride in, yet not without regret. Perhaps, a confidence and humility configuration of ‘I’ that highlights love would be most fitting.