Tangled Conversation: Mediocrity
What's your greatest fear?
Well one of them is mediocrity.
Huh?
I have a great fear of mediocrity.
Is God mediocre?
What? Are you smoking crack? No, but that has nothing to do with me.
Well what is this mediocrity, how do you define mediocre?
Oh you know, not doing anything special, outstanding, just bumping along. Being unimpressive.
Being unimpressive to whom?
Uh oh, I think I see where you are going. I'll play along though. Being impressive to others.
So you want others to think you're impressive.
Well I want them to appreciate my contribution.
How many do you need? 100 people? 1,000 people? 1 million? When and if you get 100 will you be satisfied, or will it then appear that "you know what, 1000 is what I want."
Okay, true, good point.
Well what if you get the whole world? You want them to value your contribution?
Well yeah, that would be nice.
And which is really the more accurate picture...your contribution will be valued forever or it will be more like a passing fad, that everyone was into then is forgotten?
More like the latter. Okay, you're right. But there is also God. I don't want to be mediocre for God.
But aren't you?
Huh?
Aren't you mediocre, no matter what you do. I mean seriously, mediocrity is a term of comparison. There is what is good, what is mediocre, and what is bad. Mediocrity is just the amount of imperfection in something. If excellent, there is no mediocrity. ANYWAY...compared to God you are a ALWAYS mediocre.
Hmmm good point. What's that mean?
It means that His love and acceptance for you has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO with your performance.
That's right, that's true. But He doesn't want me to be a loser and a failure either.
So it's God's job, because you believe in Him, to make sure the rest of the world values and accepts you? What they think a winner is counts, and therefore God should mold us in such a way that the world is impressed with us?
That does sound a little silly. So we should be losers?
Well that depends on who's defining loserdom wouldn't it? If it's your parents then, yep you might be a loser. If it's society...if it's your alumni class...if it's your friends...if it's your colleagues...if it's your ex-girlfriend from high school...if it's your professor...then you might be a loser -- or heck they might think you're a winner. But that's not the ultimate reality. Only that lies in God. And what does the perfect Father see in us His children? His perfect Son. The ultimate winner.
So my fear of mediocrity?
Probably unfounded.
So I will do great things?
Whose definition of great? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the only definition of great is what God defines as such -- even if it is scoffed at by the world? Also, even if the world thinks it is great, you would be free from its control and fauning because you would have only eyes for Him.
Hmmmmm...
And furthermore. Only God is good. Only what He does is good. So therefore only what HE does through and in us will be good. If what we do apart from Him is considered great, then by definition it isn't, because HE didn't do it. Forget what the experts and critics say.
So I still can do great things that are appreciated by the world!
Sure, but look at what the excitement in such says about us. Say God's approval is X and the world's is Y1. If X + Y1 = X, then we can say that the world didn't approve (Y1 = 0), but God approved (X > 0). But let's say X + Y2 > X + Y1. Here we see that the world's approval makes life better (X + Y2 > X, for Y1 =0). So if given the choice we'd like to have both (X and Y2).
Well that just makes sense. Why not?
Because it's an illusion. What underlies that thought is that GOD IS NOT ENOUGH. God is not capable of fulfilling everything we desire.
Good point. So what would happen is that we would seek after the world's approval, because why have X when you could have X + Y2.
And that would lead to...
Bondage. Control by the world. You would be no different than one who does not know God. The world seeks Y2 over Y1 as well.
And interestingly enough we'd be saying that God is just another individual, of the same value as others. Because say you are valued by q number of people. It would be better to be valued by q + 1 people.
So God is made into just another person to impress. X would then be equal to 1. So it would be 1 + Y2. Ouch it would be X + Y1 = X. And X + Y2> X. If X = 1, then 1 + Y2 > 1. God is just another person we could impress. Fungible, just like everyone else. A commodity.
Yeah. And if we feel we cannot impress Him, then we'd say, "Some will. Some won't. So what. Next!" and just spend time trying to be accepted and impressive to others.
So that means for us in Christ this equation is...
Bunk. An illusion. A lie. The reality is He's our all in all. It begins and ends with Him. And the great thing is we are now free to truly love. As we saw before, when needing others approval and acceptance (Y2) we would either have to manipulate them into thinking something of us they may not. OR even worse appease them, in other words be under their control and whim. There's no love in either case. Either way it's all about what we want and need over the other person. It's bondage, and you don't find love in bondage.
Well one of them is mediocrity.
Huh?
I have a great fear of mediocrity.
Is God mediocre?
What? Are you smoking crack? No, but that has nothing to do with me.
Well what is this mediocrity, how do you define mediocre?
Oh you know, not doing anything special, outstanding, just bumping along. Being unimpressive.
Being unimpressive to whom?
Uh oh, I think I see where you are going. I'll play along though. Being impressive to others.
So you want others to think you're impressive.
Well I want them to appreciate my contribution.
How many do you need? 100 people? 1,000 people? 1 million? When and if you get 100 will you be satisfied, or will it then appear that "you know what, 1000 is what I want."
Okay, true, good point.
Well what if you get the whole world? You want them to value your contribution?
Well yeah, that would be nice.
And which is really the more accurate picture...your contribution will be valued forever or it will be more like a passing fad, that everyone was into then is forgotten?
More like the latter. Okay, you're right. But there is also God. I don't want to be mediocre for God.
But aren't you?
Huh?
Aren't you mediocre, no matter what you do. I mean seriously, mediocrity is a term of comparison. There is what is good, what is mediocre, and what is bad. Mediocrity is just the amount of imperfection in something. If excellent, there is no mediocrity. ANYWAY...compared to God you are a ALWAYS mediocre.
Hmmm good point. What's that mean?
It means that His love and acceptance for you has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO with your performance.
That's right, that's true. But He doesn't want me to be a loser and a failure either.
So it's God's job, because you believe in Him, to make sure the rest of the world values and accepts you? What they think a winner is counts, and therefore God should mold us in such a way that the world is impressed with us?
That does sound a little silly. So we should be losers?
Well that depends on who's defining loserdom wouldn't it? If it's your parents then, yep you might be a loser. If it's society...if it's your alumni class...if it's your friends...if it's your colleagues...if it's your ex-girlfriend from high school...if it's your professor...then you might be a loser -- or heck they might think you're a winner. But that's not the ultimate reality. Only that lies in God. And what does the perfect Father see in us His children? His perfect Son. The ultimate winner.
So my fear of mediocrity?
Probably unfounded.
So I will do great things?
Whose definition of great? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the only definition of great is what God defines as such -- even if it is scoffed at by the world? Also, even if the world thinks it is great, you would be free from its control and fauning because you would have only eyes for Him.
Hmmmmm...
And furthermore. Only God is good. Only what He does is good. So therefore only what HE does through and in us will be good. If what we do apart from Him is considered great, then by definition it isn't, because HE didn't do it. Forget what the experts and critics say.
So I still can do great things that are appreciated by the world!
Sure, but look at what the excitement in such says about us. Say God's approval is X and the world's is Y1. If X + Y1 = X, then we can say that the world didn't approve (Y1 = 0), but God approved (X > 0). But let's say X + Y2 > X + Y1. Here we see that the world's approval makes life better (X + Y2 > X, for Y1 =0). So if given the choice we'd like to have both (X and Y2).
Well that just makes sense. Why not?
Because it's an illusion. What underlies that thought is that GOD IS NOT ENOUGH. God is not capable of fulfilling everything we desire.
Good point. So what would happen is that we would seek after the world's approval, because why have X when you could have X + Y2.
And that would lead to...
Bondage. Control by the world. You would be no different than one who does not know God. The world seeks Y2 over Y1 as well.
And interestingly enough we'd be saying that God is just another individual, of the same value as others. Because say you are valued by q number of people. It would be better to be valued by q + 1 people.
So God is made into just another person to impress. X would then be equal to 1. So it would be 1 + Y2. Ouch it would be X + Y1 = X. And X + Y2> X. If X = 1, then 1 + Y2 > 1. God is just another person we could impress. Fungible, just like everyone else. A commodity.
Yeah. And if we feel we cannot impress Him, then we'd say, "Some will. Some won't. So what. Next!" and just spend time trying to be accepted and impressive to others.
So that means for us in Christ this equation is...
Bunk. An illusion. A lie. The reality is He's our all in all. It begins and ends with Him. And the great thing is we are now free to truly love. As we saw before, when needing others approval and acceptance (Y2) we would either have to manipulate them into thinking something of us they may not. OR even worse appease them, in other words be under their control and whim. There's no love in either case. Either way it's all about what we want and need over the other person. It's bondage, and you don't find love in bondage.
posted by GBT at
Thursday, June 23, 2005
