DISCLAIMER: LONG BLOG POST COMING.
See that picture? That's pretty much how I want to feel. Every. Day. The desire to be a superhero really began when I got involved with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in college and started rubbing shoulders with brilliant students who wanted to live out the radical display of world-changing transformation that Jesus demonstrates in the New Testament of the Bible a. It was fueled by Shane Claiborne's book The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical and Jesus for President. I was blown away by the mind of a role model that lived so against the mainstream, was unafraid to engage in the mess of this world as well as exhort my generation of Jesus followers to bravely intersect our Christlikeness with politics and uncomfortable conversations that demanded introspection and a prophetic voice that speaks up against the evils of the status quo.
(WARNING - RABBIT TRAIL: And that is why, I am unafraid to associate myself with hipster culture. Shaine Claiborne is my idea of what a hipster should be. Ironically cool in the most purposeful and transformative way. Yes. That still means showering less. Wearing torn jeans and listening to cool music before everyone else. But minus the exclusivity and arrogance.)
Aaaaanyway...back to the main topic. I found great purpose in my faith! And still do, by the way. I was proud to be Christian! My shoulders were held high, ready to save the world!!! I quickly became a fair trade fiend, started subscribing to BBC news, al-jazheera, CNN. Started reading the Economist, Foreign Affairs, and Sojourners to keep up with the latest current events. I joined the Campus Coalition Against Human Trafficking. I re-routed my academics to focus on human rights, and global issues. I became "that person" that asked whether the chicken being served at the restaurant was farm-raised (Portlandia anyone?). I started riding a bike and using public transportation to reduce my carbon footprint. The whole. 9. yards. But anyone relating to my journey knows that difficult moment when you hit THE WALL. That wall where you become overwhelmed by the swath of problems, the number of causes you have to support, paralyzed because you feel like a drop of change in a sea of brokenness. And the worst part of it all - the realization that you actually can't eliminate all of the evil and injustice. You could be the next Martin Luther King Jr. with the most strategic task force to effectively dismantle a systematic wrong and realize that there are limits to what you can do. I was crushed. I thought I could do it. I thought I could save the world. I'd developed a savior complex.
Don't get me wrong. I'm still going the whole 9 yards. It's been 5 years since the start of my journey and I've gone through some fierce cycles of heroic valor, to complete paralysis, to apathy & complacency and back around again. It's been a relatively short journey compared to some of my Christian role models who've been living out transformative world-healing purpose since the Civil Rights Movement! But if I dare impart some discoveries as nuggets of revelation, I pray you'd bare with me and hear me out.
1. A savior complex is unhealthy, Christian or not. The bar is perfection and no human is capable of that. It sets everyone up for disappointment, especially yourself.
2. Apathy is unacceptable, Christian or not. But especially if you claim to be a follower of Jesus. As much as society has bought into individualism, one cannot live in a vacuum that excludes the communal experience which engages in the suffering of others.
That means, that the best place to be is in the middle ground between heroism and complacency. It's a tough road to tow. But necessary, because both extremes fall into the world of selfishness. From my own experience I know that the savior complex stamps out the insecurities of weakness and insignificance, while apathy fuels a desire for comfort and success with no negative consequence.
So how do you stay in the middle? I've been trucking my way through a great book by Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, The World is not ours to Save "Finding the Freedom to do Good" which tackles the notion of the savior complex head on. I was profoundly struck by something I read in this book today:
"Our heroic impulse also reveals something dark and sinister about human nature. After all, superheroes require super villains...In a strange way, to accept evil as our opponent is to affirm it. This forecloses the possibility of imagining the holy alternative, where evil is not fought because it does not even exist. Finding ourselves in an arena with evil, we happily draw our swords and wade into the fight. But this means fighting on the devil's own terms, accepting the boundaries he has drawn for our gladiatorial arena. Loving the fight with sin means loving sin itself. It means that you can't want to win. What would you do if you did?"
Bam. Sit on that for a bit.
Stevenson is essentially saying that we all run the risk of being selfish humanitarians! Altruism for our own sake because it feeds our desire for significance. It is selfish benevolence at its best. I think that it is important for us to often examine our motives when we plunge into "the battle for good" for this reason. Because if we don't it can often manifest in arrogance, pride, hatred for the apathetic, and paternalistic towards those we wish to help.
For me, as a Christian I live in the paradox of the cross that Jesus died on. He proclaimed in his last breath - "It is finished." As Stevenson so poignantly states, "...that all the heroism the universe could need was exercised there, in one man dying for the sin of the entire cosmos." I am humbled by a reality that a man named Jesus has already done the work and my response to believing that as truth is to vigorously exemplify the hope he proclaimed for humanity through my own personal transformation in word and action. And what good is a message of hope that isn't actually tangible? And followers embody the likeness of their leaders right? I think Jesus would expect no less.
= INTERMISSION =
I began that way because, I think its important that you realize where I am coming from before I make any comments regarding the strike that is taking place at Indiana University that is protesting tuition hikes, unjust work policies & wages for support staff among other things. If you want to know more check out this link: http://iuonstrike.tumblr.com/
To be honest I was ecstatic about the strike! My husband, Gregory and I have been talking about the issues IUonStrike has raised for a LONG time and have felt little power to take action in the past. So to see a student-driven movement begin to snowball into something that could actually influence the university honestly brought me to tears. We decided to attend an organizing meeting for the strike to learn more about the strategy and motivations. After sharing a few questions and concerns we walked away a little disappointed and unsure whether we should participate at all. But since then, I've been wrestling as to whether it is even right for me to take part. That little hero inside was getting fired up again. I am torn even now with some moral reservations.
Despite any criticisms towards the movement, I believe that the desire to act on behalf of something bigger than selfish ambitions is something students in the last decade have lost much conviction for. The United States has carried a legacy of student-led revolutions that have died out since the 1980s. So to see this happening at IU marks a tide that is turning, where the youth can become that prophetic voice against the evils of the status quo once again. So maybe it's loosely organized and can have a more unified voice but that is how grassroots movements begin! Frankly that's how anything usually begins -- Sheer inspiration and ambition motivated by personal experience and passion. We celebrate innovators and entrepreneurs that start things like FB from their garage. Ask them if they new what they were doing, if they had all the research and all the experience, and all their "I"s dotted and their "T"s crossed. I doubt they'd say "yes."
But they grew with each moment that passed. They refined their product or program knowing that it could always be more effective. And that is what I see in the IUonStrike movement. They are taking a first step that no one else is willing to take. I pray that they will continue to persevere and not let the results of this first campus wide strike be the last, because like any movement for change it is a long road.
As for my views on the strike as a Christian, I believe that more of us should be engaged in the cause. In fact, I would expect church communities closely connected to the university to use this as an opportunity to teach effectively on how believers should appropriately think about, respond and act on behalf of these issues.
- Tuition hikes can easily spark a conversation about what it means to appropriately steward financial resources and avoid debt slavery.
- Unjust work practices for support staff inspires a biblical call to fight on behalf of the marginalized not just from afar but for those within our reach.
- Unjust wages and wage freezes calls us to question the idolatry of name and fame of University presidents & athletic coaches who receive signing bonuses and $25,000 for team wins when custodians can barely make enough to support a family.
- Increased enrollment for black students & proper care for undocumented students in the university inspires a biblical response to issues of racial injustice and a need for reconciliation.
The church should be the most willing to engage in robust dialogue, action and effective discipleship of Jesus followers when it comes to this stuff. But I'd argue that we remain the least vocal and the least equipped to respond.
I know that I am biased because I have worked alongside staff in the student union who have been screwed over because of unjust work practices, I am a graduate strapped down by college loan debt, and I hear the stories of suffering experienced by minority students I work closely with through InterVarsity. It is difficult to disengage amidst such realities.
I have had many conversations with people one-on-one who align with my perspective, but I cannot say that swaths of the Christian community have a resounding voice. In fact, I find myself aligning more and more with non-faith communities and individuals who desire to be a part of transformative healing and restoration in the world. What does that say about the church? (The Western/American church in particular?) What kind of discipleship are we exhorting people to? It's no wonder our 'good news' falls flat on its face!!
The resounding question of youth today is, "Is God Good enough?" The Christian community must have an answer that begs more than a sound theological argument. "You will be my witnesses..." Jesus cried out to his disciples as he ascended into heaven. *Sigh*
I pray that I can be proven wrong on this account.
Regardless of where you stand on faith and humanitarianism I hope that if nothing else you are moved to evaluate your goals and passions.
Even despite my reservations about IUonStrike, I am choosing to participate because I am in a position to advocate for those too afraid to vocalize their hurts because too much is on the line for their families, or that too much is on the line for their potential tenure and job security, or too much is on the line for their ethnic community. I'm choosing to walk my talk.
Christians -- I hope I see you on the front lines tomorrow.
Call or text me if you want to strike together you Bloomingtonians:
559 300 3775
