BLOG 6/20/17. SO, YOU ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANCE—WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT?
Philosopher Charles Taylor and his disciples make a good and helpful case for the fact that the quest for significance and authenticity are un-mistakably present in today’s culture. Pondering their writings, though, I have a further question: So, if one can actually attain to some satisfactory sense of significance, or authenticity, … then, what do you do with it? How does that achievement fit into the larger scheme of the meaning of my mortality, the larger metaphysical perspective of reality? This is not a new question. Some of these writings of Taylor’s disciples (Joustra and Wilkinson) quote T. S. Eliot’s classic poem: “We are the hollow men …’ to underscore this long-time awareness of how easily life devolves into daily survival.
On another, but somewhat parallel tract, I am always fascinated by the insistence by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Christians at Colossae of the larger meaning of Christ in the cosmic scheme of things: He portrays Jesus this way: “… the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known to everyone how great are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” … i.e., ultimate significance and authenticity.
Is that too much of a stretch for you? Let me tell you a true story. One of my great contemporary heroes, and, also, a personal friend, is John Perkins, the civil rights advocate and renowned Christian community developer. John grew up in Mississippi where he suffered all of the horrendous abuse that black folk endured there. He was a share-cropper’s son, and a third-grade dropout. When his older brother, and army veteran, was shot and killed by the local law-enforcement officials for no reason, John escaped to California to begin a new life. There he encountered Christ, was discipled well, and ultimately was moved by the Spirit to go back to his own people in Mississippi as an evangelist and to engage in community development, but was also engaged in civil rights efforts such as voter registration, for which he himself was jailed and beaten. … Long story short: John’s work was ultimately so inescapable and fruitful that the state of Mississippi declared a John M. Perkins Day in his honor. His efforts have multiplied. He has received numerous honorary doctorates; his writings have been widely acclaimed.
I was staying with John, some years back, and noted on the walls of his modest study not only his honorary degrees, but a picture of John in the Oval Office of the White House. Later while having supper together, I asked him: “John, how do you maintain your humility with all of these honors and accolades?” John is very modest, and he pondered that for a few moments, then replied: “Bob, I just have to remember that whether I am chopping cotton in Mississippi, or a guest in the Oval Office, that I am the glory of God.” Wow! Speak of a sense of significance, of one’s identity in the larger scheme of God’s design, …
Jesus didn’t focus on the strong, the wealthy, the nobly-born, the ‘somebodies’—but rather on the ‘nobodies’ and it was their inheritance in the mystery of it all to become the glory of God, … i.e., the radiant display of the divine nature in human lives, to find ultimate significance wherever and in whatever circumstances they might find themselves: “I am the glory of God.”
Charles Taylor is a brilliant philosopher, whom I appreciate, but John Perkins is an encouraging incarnation of true Christian significance.
[You might appreciate reading more in John’s book: Let Justice Roll Down.]
To be continued …
