Living the definition or defining the living. That’s what most all people do. As well as communities. This has been my observation.
Living the definition is very very popular. I try to live the life of a Christian and what a Christian looks like. Or pastor. Or father. Or mystic. Or saint. Or artist. Or writer. Whatever. So for instance, when I encounter someone who is suffering, I check out my inner dictionary to see what a christian pastor should do when he meets someone like this. It’s living a prescribed life that is constantly being measured and tested and edited. This is a life filled with fear, ambition and hypocrisy.
Defining the life is when we look back on our lives and think about it or write about it or talk about it. We are always looking behind us to see how we’ve done, to discern how well our actual lives measure against our definition of what it should’ve or shouldn’t have been. This is a life filled with either indifference, remorse or pride.
I have decided that few people actually live. We don’t live the moment. We are either trying to live up to some definition or trying to define what we’ve already lived. Something genuine, authentic and real happens, and immediately we define it so that we can sell it to someone who will live by it’s definition. We try to encapsulate it then use it again as if for the first time. It’s like great sex. Our immediate response is: “Let’s do that again exactly the same way!” Of course it’s impossible to experience the very same thing again. We can’t just live the moment. We are not free. We are not alive.
Our poor communities suffer under the same dilemma. We persuade them to live according to a definition of what we think a successful, influential, vibrant and growing community should be, rather than just letting it be what it already is. And we are constantly measuring our communities against the definition of what we thought it should or shouldn’t be. If something wonderfully real happens, then we try to sell this definition to other communities to live by. How many times have I been accused of not looking like a christian or acting like a pastor? How many times has our church been accused of not looking like a church or not fitting into the Vineyard movement? More than I can count. It’s because people freak out when you don’t fit the definition. And if you do happen to do something wonderfully refreshing and creative, even more people rush to tell you to publish it so that you can profit from it and so that others can do that too.
I believe when there’s talk of being a new creation, being a new man or woman, that there’s another way of being human… a way that’s entirely free, that’s entirely bold, that’s entirely beautiful and unique. The same for communities. Free of definition! They are enigmas and anomolies. But the fear or ambition of definitions prevents us from being this kind of new person or this new kind of community.
The fine art photograph is the creation of my friend Jorgen Klausen and is from his Mask series.
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David Hayward is an artist trapped in a pastor's body, stripping to the essential.
How about checking your little inner dictionary and trying to live your life according to what the Bible says? That’s certainly “living the definition”. The true issue is not a case of “living the definition or defining the life,” but rather, having the right definition and then living that definition.
EVERYBODY lives according to a definition, indeed, no one can do otherwise. It’s all dependent on which definition you live out. A definition of social pressure, a definition of individual preference, a definition of tradition, a definition of Christlike-ness, a definition of religious behavior, etc. Everyone has a definition they live by.
I realize everyone has a definition they live by, which is why I’m suggesting that there is a better way… a new creation, ex nihilo, out of nothing that has been before, not even a dictionary.
Webmonk has me thinking…because I don’t think I live by a definition. I mean where in the Bible can I find “believer” defined? Jesus seemed to have a different definition than Moses who had a different definition than David who had a different definition than Paul who had a different definition than John who had a different definition than…the list could go on. And how about “mother” or “friend” or “teacher” or “daughter” or “neighbor”? Where are these definitions?
I struggled for a long time trying to find a definition of “excellent wife” and am currently interested in whether there is a definition for “member of the body of Christ”. Some people seem to find definitions so easy, so obvious, and so necessary. I’m getting a bit paranoid that I’m blindly missing the obvious; perhaps the Bible is cut and dried and I’m just incredibly dyslexic!!
But the more I read Scripture, the less I view it as a dictionary or a textbook. The more messy my life becomes, the more I view the Bible as a series of love letters rich with nuances and personal, read-between-the-lines, messages.
I’m growing tired of definitions and dictionaries these days. Is that all God wants? A bride who parrots back to Him and to the world some kind of black and white answers? A bride who studies every available source so that she can become the synoposis of His fantasy? This may sound blasphemous to some, but I imagine that God would much rather have a romp in the hay with a bride who knows herself fully and can give herself freely and is so completely into Him that definitions are the last thing on her mind…
I agree that we all live by definition, the only problem is, it is too mixed up that we don’t even know what those definition are. Sometimes we thought that we live in a christian-based definition, but if we look deep in our own hearts, we don’t even have the slightest idea of what a true believer in Christ is.
Is it going to church? Helping the poor and the needy? How about when we are at home? When we are at the mall? Are we living the same definition that we use when we are inside the church building? Are we living the same truth of being a believer of Christ?
Do we really live in a certain degree of definition or we simply follow what other’s way of living their definition?
Good thoughts np. Also defining ourselves by Christ’s standards is much different than defining ourselves by man’s standards. But the pull of man is so intense of a draw.
Do we all define ourselves? Possibly. However, lately I define myself according to my relationships, not as a noun really, but more of a verb. Instead of thinking I am “a Christian” (noun), I think of myself as relating to (verb) the Father/Son/Holy Spirit. The same is true of my relationships as wife, mother, and friend. It is especially true of how I think of church and community at this time. I define my church community relationally rather than organizationally. Rather than looking for a church (defined by place), I look for relational circumstances where church is occurring. I’m not sure if that makes sense to anyone else, but that’s how I see it today.
Amen Grace! I like the idea of noun and verb as to define us and also who we are in Christ. I would also stretch that to say that our role in the body of Christ is also a verb. Jesus is the Pastor [noun] but He may choose to use us to pastor [verb] to His Body. I think when we define ourselves as being a noun than we’re putting ourselves in His position.
I guess I’m a bit loose with the idea of “definition” when I think of what defines me and my actions. Definition is probably the wrong word to use when we describe how we guide our lives. “Definition” has the idea of an all-encompassing, exhaustive and complete summary. People and the world are much too complex to abide in a narrow definition.
Perhaps people try to live their lives by a definition, or by a couple definitions. “I am a father and husband,” is something I can use to define and guide everything I do and all that I am. But it is far too narrow to be a good guide. If I stretch it to the point where it can guide everything I am, then it is stretched to the point it is no longer useful.
Most people have quite a few definitions which define and guide, depending on the situation: pastor, friend, father, mother, son, daughter, employee, boss, competitor, etc. But really, these are all secondary and strictly local definitions which are shaped by the primary definition(s) one has for oneself. Christian, athiest, Muslim, Mormon, etc.
Definitions aren’t bad; they’re useful. Trying to live by the wrong one in a situation will cause all sorts of problems, though. Trying to be a wise-pastor-of-a-growing-church all the time is taking a local definition and applying it as a foundational definition of who-I-am.
“I am a Christian,” is a workable definition by which to live ones life because the thing which defines a Christian isn’t a single concept or a list of hard rules. A Christian is defined by a relationship, but not a relationship to an exclusive or narrow area of life. Christ, being God, is Lord of all Creation and of every situation, and a relationship with Christ impacts everything. When the foundational definition is right, then all the others will flow from it, and it will guide you to properly being a father, mother, pastor-of-50, pastor-of-5000, friend, president, or slave.
I am reminded of Braveheart, I think it was the tagline of the movie: “All men die, few ever really live!” Thanks for sharing about defining the life. As an emerging church planter getting ready to start a new church I appreciate the sentiment and am committed to not become defined by anything other than what God has said about us as a community. Thank you.