"Stories bind us by reminding us that our lives all exhibit the same fragilities, and thus demand that we stay humane. But I didn't want to be humane; I wanted to be correct."- William Kittredge, Hole in the Sky
I think one of the maladies that infect Christian circles and often steal the joy from ones spiritual journey is the need to be correct. I think there is a difference between walking in truth and striving to always be correct. There is an abandon that is present in truth that is often absent in those who are attempting to strain the gnats of life. One who is at rest in truth seems to be someone who is at peace with life, in a way that those who are on a crusade for correct seem to miss. There is a simplicity that grows with those who walk the way of truth that's easy, it's a yoke, it guides for sure, but it doesn't chafe. Those who are panting after the top rung of correctness can't seem to see the journey because of the steps.
They forget to make a lot of room for...time.
There is a gentleness in becoming more and more human that the pursuit of the Divine produces in us. God softens us. We become slower, quieter, we mellow inwardly in a way that makes us less prone to have to argue, debate, convince, convert or dominate. We can take the last place, the end of the table, the position of servant because we have seen through the illusion that blinds them that need to be correct.
Truth is a position that enables one to really love...being correct, is a pursuit of those who often lose the way of love.
1 comment:
I really like this post. Fenelon calls the way of correctness simply the way of pride. We feel bad when we sin, not because we grieve the Holy Spirit, but because we made an error, our pursuit of perfection is blemished. It comes from a works based faith, and finds comfort in a measure of success in the pursuit of being better, or the best. Quite shallow really.
Love Dad
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