Community.
As I sat in a moderately busy Starbucks, sipping my black tea and typing up a letter, I began to feel someone's attention focused in on me. Cautiously, I looked up. Sure enough, a lady was staring me down. I had a table, and she was sitting on a stool against the wall, clutching her red cup and not removing her gaze. Realizing I needed to head home, I stood up. Before I had picked up my empty La Boulange bag, she started making her way over. She rushed past me and immediately staked a claim on that table.
I began to wonder about how the community we have cultivated. See, I would have happily shared my table with the other lady. We could've had a brilliant conversation, or quietly respected one another's space. It would seem that we (as a culture) have decided it is more comfortable to be passively rude than to risk another person rejecting us or being actively rude in response. So we throw nonverbal signs at people to influence their behavior toward us. What is that, even? Is it that we are so fearful of human interaction, or that we hate confrontation? Is it that we look at others without regard for their humanity, their dignity? Do we view others as roadblocks? Are we that selfish? Perhaps it is a mix between our own selfishness, and our fearfulness of others. There is no technological buffer if we don't receive the response we want. There is no shield to hide our timidity.
What breaks my heart about our culture is that we have disregarded part of our creation. God created us in His image (Genesis 1:27). God resides in community (Father, Son, Holy Spirit; Genesis 1:26). Part of being made in His image is being created to be in community. When we reject the idea of community, we miss out, because we are not living out our full potential. Something is missing. One of my new prayers is that the barriers we have thrown up (or allowed to be built around us) would come down, and that people in my community would engage with one another.
I began to wonder about how the community we have cultivated. See, I would have happily shared my table with the other lady. We could've had a brilliant conversation, or quietly respected one another's space. It would seem that we (as a culture) have decided it is more comfortable to be passively rude than to risk another person rejecting us or being actively rude in response. So we throw nonverbal signs at people to influence their behavior toward us. What is that, even? Is it that we are so fearful of human interaction, or that we hate confrontation? Is it that we look at others without regard for their humanity, their dignity? Do we view others as roadblocks? Are we that selfish? Perhaps it is a mix between our own selfishness, and our fearfulness of others. There is no technological buffer if we don't receive the response we want. There is no shield to hide our timidity.
What breaks my heart about our culture is that we have disregarded part of our creation. God created us in His image (Genesis 1:27). God resides in community (Father, Son, Holy Spirit; Genesis 1:26). Part of being made in His image is being created to be in community. When we reject the idea of community, we miss out, because we are not living out our full potential. Something is missing. One of my new prayers is that the barriers we have thrown up (or allowed to be built around us) would come down, and that people in my community would engage with one another.
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