Monday, September 8, 2008

On Community

Sometimes one of the hardest parts of community is acknowledging one's own need for other people, and not just other people's needs and the ways one can assist them. Not wanting to be a burden, or a complainer, or a needy person can keep us stuck in our own mess...granted some people are way too codependent, but there's a necessary messiness inherent in bringing out one's own issues instead of just helping other people solve theirs. This is hard for me to accept.

"Our sin is that stubborn part inside that wants, above all else, to be independent. There's a part of us fiercely committed to living in a way where we do not have to depend on anyone--especially God. Then culture comes along with figures like John Wayne and James Bond and all those other 'real men,' and the one thing they have in common is that they are loners, they don't need anyone. We come to believe deep in our hearts that needing anyone for anything is a sort of weakness, a handicap." John Eldredge

1 comment:

doug said...

So true. There is such irony in the great willingness to help/serve others but not allow others to do the same for us.

Keep writing! Always such good stuff!!