Do you know who the worst person to ask about water? A fish, because a fish doesn’t know what life is without it. That’s what the suburbs feel like to me. They are comfortable, familiar, easy to get along with, and full of homogeny. They are ubiquitous. You don’t even realize that your in them. The problem is that most people don’t realize that they are in the middle of mediocre, homogenized, C+ average and proud of it, kind of attitude that just literally drives me insane. It’s a weird feeling when you want more for people than they want for themselves collectively. I think there is a collective settling plagues the people who merely want safety, comfort, a huge TV, nice children, and little else. I’m not saying anything that has been said a thousand times, I’m just repeating it for myself. It’s really easy for me to forget that this isn’t normal. Like Tim Keller said, at the end of Revelation, God didn’t say, “…and I saw the great suburb coming down from heaven” –no, it takes a city. There is a real beauty to the resourcefulness that you must have in the city. There aren’t acres of land and grass to mow or 8 lane highways to drive 65 on, but there is a collective familial aspect that is lost to the bunker-driven suburbs. I just can’t stand the collective lack of truly living. It’s weird being around so many people who are the tails being wagged, instead of the people who are leading and making the decisions that need to be made. What I want to say to my future self is don’t get tied down to comfort. You are going to spend lots of time in areas that are really comfortable, but remember that God loves you just as much when you are stretched and cramped and frustrated as he does when you are satisfied and well-rested. Don’t let yourself get crushed by the weight of inactivity or misplaced and misdirected activity all in the name of leading people to a fat ass, a full belly, 2.5 kids that are nice enough, but don’t really make a difference to anyone or anything, and a group of people around you that are all fine people who don’t really do anything of significance with their lives. That should scare you more than it does. The pursuit of that goal will kill you and your dreams more quickly than you can realize them and replace them with a small, contrite, microscopic vision of what your life could truly be. Instead, strip off all of the sin that holds us back and allow yourself to dream and allow the Holy Spirit to define your vision for you, and if you will walk down that path, you will find true wisdom, meaning, purpose and the best kind of life you are hoping to live.
