Some relevant facts before I begin:
The Bible never contradicts itself. If you think it does, let's have coffee. I'm willing to listen to you if you're willing to listen to me. What I'm talking about today has more to do with lessons of how to live (see paradoxes in Proverbs, which I think aren't contradictory, but are teaching that life take biblical wisdom, and that both can be true) than any apparent historical contradictions.
The definition of paradox is NOT "something which is self contradictory." Let me give you the actual definition:
Merriam-Webster's: "a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true"
I also read somewhere by someone smart who I don't remember that a paradox was something that appeared to be a contradiction but in reality wasn't.
The Blog
I've been thinking about a particular contradiction because of some sermons I've been listening to that has to do with work and rest. That is it's own issue. But some reflection on the tension of things and ideas of "balance" that we all love to talk about, me especially, made me decide I'd write a short (yeah, you're laughing, I'm never short. Maybe my next post should be how I need to learn to say everything that I often say in a minute or two in 10 seconds or less. Or maybe the rule is 10 words or less, main thing is, I know that I need to learn to say more with fewer words and less time. AFTER I WROTE THIS: Well, this post turned into that, oh well.)
Most of you who read this probably already agree with me and it's nothing new, but, eh, that happens, once again, that's another post about further reflecting on the legitimacy of blogging.
All my asides aside, I will now actually say what I came here to say.
Every point in the Bible seems to need three sermons, one of which never gets preached. One to present one extreme (in my case, we are all called to work and redeem the creation, but we're all lazy, me especially), one to present this other extreme (we are all called to rest, particularly to rest in Jesus, but also rest in the general sense, and none of rest enough, especially me, and especially so not in Jesus); pause, here is the paradox, two statements which make opposite statements but are both true; and one to actually teach the balance, the living out of the paradox. This third one never gets given. And maybe it doesn't actually need to be, but, I feel like some people need to be taught about this tension thing, or it needs to get mentioned that there is an opposite, that you can go too far one way in a lot of issues which we present extremes on. Now, I get it, we teach extremes to make points. I do it all that time. I'm not actually against the practice, I'm just saying that we need to remember from time to time to remind people that there is always an flip side of the coin, and teach them how to deal with that. While I doubt this is an issue anyone who will ever read this faces because we've been taught good biblical thinking, there are many who don't get what I'm talking about.
Someone, somewhere, smarter than me, who I don't remember, has written, or maybe gave a sermon, talking about tension. And I'm just realizing that there is a never ending tension in life. In fact, maybe I'm recalling a point that was made to me, if I am, that's okay, I already knew this was nothing revolutionary or new when I started writing it, I digress. There is always tension in life. In fact, if you don't feel tension, you are probably leaning to far one way on this or that. So, now, we have to learn how to live with the tension. To take the extremes, which are both true, and find through biblical wisdom where living life falls between the two sermons.
That's all I wanted to say.
Yep, I've got to figure out how to say things with fewer words. In Bible study yesterday I really became aware of this. I was saying something, and trying to say it eloquently, but if I don't faster, I think I probably lose people. And fact is, good communicators just say what needs to be said without a bunch of extra, or unnecessary. I've got to start identifying what is necessary and what isn't. How to communicate my meaning effectively and not bore people or take forever. I just always want to say it well and illustrate my point and make sure I'm understood . . . and then I feel like I have to justify or defend things as I say them. Now doesn't that say something about a problem I have. Yes, yes it does.
The key to being succinct, in writing at least, is to write down absolutely everything you might possibly want to say, then go back through and cut absolutely everything that doesn't absolutely have to be mentioned. It's all about editing. The people who are eloquent in the spoken word are doing the same thing, just in real time.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, if you weren't writing a post about the succinctness topic itself, you would cut everything not in paragraphs 6 & 7. Doesn't mean the other stuff isn't worth saying. Just means it doesn't absolutely need to be said here.
I like the point about the tension, although you seem to assume that people can learn it from a sermon. I'm not sure that's the case.
I don't think they can learn it from a sermon, I just kind of picked that as my medium of learning and information receiving because that's the one that pretty much everyone gets. Also, because what brought me to this thought was the extremes presented in often presented in sermons.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent point and something I've learned through talking to one of my friends. I love to ask questions. When I would discuss these questions with my friend, we found that 99% of the time the answer was either "it depends" or "there is a balance" or something along those lines...it's even become an inside joke.
ReplyDeleteOn the specific case you mentioned, I heard a great teaching by Daniel Lancaster. He described how every Friday we prepare for the Sabbath, frantically trying to clean the house, prepare the meals, etc. Everything has to be done for two days...it can get quite crazy. We work as if we could not bring in the Sabbath until everything was done. But everything never gets done. Week after week, we come to sunset and there is still work left to do. But the Sabbath has come--not dependent on our work, but on God who makes the sun rise and set. It is the same with the Kingdom. We work as if our salvation depended on it--but in the end we know that it is not us who brings salvation but our Father. It's His gift.