Last week, I posed the question of what motivation leads to withdrawal (and ultimately dissipation), based on the thesis of The Fabric of Faithfulness that a burden of responsibility leads to engagement (and ultimately multiplication).
The answer (as usual) was to keep reading...
[T]he years between adolescence and adulthood are a tumultuous time, anywhere and everywhere. Many students, perhaps most, emerge from their university experience ready to take on the world; the idealism of youth, we call it. But then somewhere along the way the reality of life in the fast lane of adult responsibility hits--sometimes like a ton of bricks, sometimes like acid rain. In a thousand ways they see how hard it is to be faithful to family, at work, in politics. Day in an day out they experience disappointments in every part of life--every part of life--and see how hard it is to be hopeful (and therefore responsible) actors in human history as they try to be neighbors to those next door and to those around the world. --The Fabric of Faithfulness, page 33 (italics is Garber's; underlines are mine)
So, it would seem that disappointment (bred by hardship) leads to hopelessness which induces an abandoning of responsibility--AKA withdrawal.
And it seems to me that we make the disappointment more painful and the hopelessness bleaker when we are sensitive only to hardships that are similar to those with which we are familiar. How often do we hear of someone's struggle in life, only to respond with, "Well, you're not as far along as I am, so you've got it easy?" (And how many times have we used that response on a student!)
Garber says that cultivating responsibility requires a community who cares. So, how can we expand our range of sympathy to include those in our community whose struggles seem foreign to us?
The university and the church have a lot more in common than most people think.
For example, this week, my univerity is hosting a faculty & student symposium for members of the campus community to present their work.
It's amazing how different "research" looks in different fields. In the sciences, we spend as little time as possible on background so that we can show as much of our original work as possible. Meanwhile, presenters from the College of Business seem to spend the majority of the time on their title slide (this shocked me) talking about the background and motivation and then speed through their original work. I've also seen Dance students who's talks seem to be entirely historical research, without showing what a scientist would consider an original thesis.
They're all very different---so much so that they hardly seem to understand each other---but they're all equally part of the academic enterprise.
It's very much like the church.
Whom do you feel like you have more in common with?
Person A: This person has made many of the same decisions as you in life. They have pursued a similar career, for many of the same reasons. They have many of the same goals as you. They come from a similar family & social background as you. They hold many of the same opinions and convictions as you.
In fact, there is only one thing you don't have in common with this person: They have no relationship with Jesus.
Person B: This person has made many of the exact opposite decisions that you have. They have a career that has nothing to do with yours---or perhaps they are even opposed to your career. Their goals seem alien to you. Their family life is radically different from yoursl perhaps it is even offensive to you. They come from a side of town you would never visit. They don't share your most closely-held convictions, and hold convictions that you consider absurd.
But this person is a follower of Jesus.
Whom do you feel like you have more in common with?
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