While browsing around an old book, which I do often, I came across a statement that set me to thinking. That Sartre would set a person to thinking should not surprise anyone who knows much about him. Not that I mean I am in agreement with much that he posited. See what you think about this line:
“We only become what we are by the radical and deep-seated refusal of that which others have made of us." Jean-Paul Sartre.
Deep seated refusal of that which others have made of us. Have you ever thought about this phrase? Others have made of us! Fifty some years of observation has convinced me that most humans are frustrated due to attempting to live in a mold made for them by someone else. Walter Marks wrote the song and Sammy Davis Jr. made a fortune singing, “I gotta be me.” While he carried it a little far, (he didn’t fit my mold) there is some thought provocation there.
All human beings are basically alike, yet each has subtle and often not so subtle differences. Margaret Mead touched on this with one of her insightful lines,
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.”
One of the many things that has troubled me over the years is the insistence of religious people that we all must fit the same mold. When that particular mold is Christ, I have no trouble with the idea. I admit that I really struggle with the doing of it! I watched a noted Rabbi respond to a question from an audience concerning why many Jewish men nod their head back and forth while praying. The Rabbi agreed that there are no Holy Book instructions to do this, but stated, a very powerful Rabbi did the head movement and others followed. Folks, there is a world of serious thought in that statement.
It’s a good thing to sing, “It’s my desire to be like Jesus” and quite another to be pressed into a mold of the making of someone other than Jesus Christ. Paul deals with the dilemma we face in,
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Agreed, Paul is talking about the world at large, but a wise person will resist and when necessary refuse to be poured into the mold of the demands of some religious leader, who may have a nice mold for him or herself, but one that upon serious inspection is not for you and or has no true biblical basis.
I do not sing, “I gotta me” but I do pray for the Lord to have His own way in my life day in and day out. In many ways this is my refusal of that which others have attempted to make of me.
Copyright © 2016 Larry Lilly
IT Work that lasts. Oral Deckard
“We only become what we are by the radical and deep-seated refusal of that which others have made of us." Jean-Paul Sartre.
Deep seated refusal of that which others have made of us. Have you ever thought about this phrase? Others have made of us! Fifty some years of observation has convinced me that most humans are frustrated due to attempting to live in a mold made for them by someone else. Walter Marks wrote the song and Sammy Davis Jr. made a fortune singing, “I gotta be me.” While he carried it a little far, (he didn’t fit my mold) there is some thought provocation there.
All human beings are basically alike, yet each has subtle and often not so subtle differences. Margaret Mead touched on this with one of her insightful lines,
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.”
One of the many things that has troubled me over the years is the insistence of religious people that we all must fit the same mold. When that particular mold is Christ, I have no trouble with the idea. I admit that I really struggle with the doing of it! I watched a noted Rabbi respond to a question from an audience concerning why many Jewish men nod their head back and forth while praying. The Rabbi agreed that there are no Holy Book instructions to do this, but stated, a very powerful Rabbi did the head movement and others followed. Folks, there is a world of serious thought in that statement.
It’s a good thing to sing, “It’s my desire to be like Jesus” and quite another to be pressed into a mold of the making of someone other than Jesus Christ. Paul deals with the dilemma we face in,
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Agreed, Paul is talking about the world at large, but a wise person will resist and when necessary refuse to be poured into the mold of the demands of some religious leader, who may have a nice mold for him or herself, but one that upon serious inspection is not for you and or has no true biblical basis.
I do not sing, “I gotta me” but I do pray for the Lord to have His own way in my life day in and day out. In many ways this is my refusal of that which others have attempted to make of me.
Copyright © 2016 Larry Lilly
IT Work that lasts. Oral Deckard
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