Thursday, July 21, 2005

Self-sufficiency is the enemy of community

Cerulean Sanctum's Dan Edelen has posted some trenchant observations on community, self-sufficiency, and sin. Dan has a strong sense of the corporate nature of sin and how it invisibly seeps into our lives. Here's a sample:

Name a problem in our society and I bet you can trace it back to our misguided belief in self-sufficiency.

Ever wonder why there are a hundred different types of breakfast cereal in the grocery store? Self-sufficiency breeds self-centeredness. Self-centeredness naturally evolves into the concept that I am the master of my own kingdom. As a king, I need something that sets me apart from the commoner. They may eat cornflakes, but Ineed the organic muesli with non-GMO, freeze-dried ollaliberries added. The common becomes despised because I require something better. Whining for "better" promotes greed. Need I say more?

Folks, being more holy won't fix this. We've tried that route and failed miserably. Nor will attempting to live a simpler life get us out from under the burden that reinforces the very complexity we try to avoid. The brick wall awaits and we're going ninety even with the brakes on. The system is broken at a fundamental level: We lack real, connected community and our need to overcome that lack results in our becoming self-sufficient. If I don't need you, I need everything that is not you that might replace you. And soon enough, the thing that replaces you is viewed as more essential than you are. Is it any surprise then that we live in such an angry society.
That's something to think about.

3 Comments:

Blogger c said...

milton, didn't know if you had been to alan roxburgh and chris erdman's blog. they are doing a preaching series right now on odyssey.blogs.com

4:06 PM, July 21, 2005  
Blogger Milton Stanley said...

Cool. Thanks for the tip, Clark. I had not seen their blogs, but I'll give them a look. Peace.

3:09 PM, July 22, 2005  
Blogger Milton Stanley said...

Thanks, Dan. If I've got you covering my back, I got it made! Thanks, too for the consistently excellent posts at Cerulean Sanctum. Peace.

3:11 PM, July 22, 2005  

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