Modeling Appropriate Behavior... ramblings from a guy in need of a vacation
How many times have I said this to adults or kids. You need to model the appropriate behavior.
These day's when I think of models outside of Christian circles I think of I think of Abercrombie and Fitch models plastered in gigantic photographs on walls or Victoria Secret models walking the runway in some skimpy outfit that looks really uncomfortable... I'm guessing...(and this is just a guess) that most of those models don't wear that stuff.
Some folks tell celebrities like Tiger Woods, Charles Barkley and Eminem that they are role models.
We pastors tell people to behave... or more sinister... to act like we are behaving. (isn't that what modeling behavior is).
Look folks I'm coming to terms with the world we live in being pretend. nothing is what it seems. Our sound bite culture conveys partial truths and paritial lies. nothing is what it seems. we don't just wear masks, we wear costumes.
Talking with my friend Joe Myers last week he said sometime like: By telling various people in various contexts and situations who they are ... WE DISCOVER who we are....
let me get this straight.... We tell me people who we are and then we discover who we are as we describe ourselves.
I think that is true. and wicked scary. I do this.
the arguement could go that by acting a certain way we discover how we act. but i'm not convinced of that.
What I am tired of doing is playing pretend in all my circumstances. I'm definately tired of playing pretend with my understanding of my self. A couple questions I'm asking myself today:
Am I seeking a purity of life and character or the appearance of it?
Am I moving toward the simplicity (and complexity I suppose) of living a very simple life that is revolutionary?
Would I be ok with a simple revolutionary life?
What the hell does a simple revolutionary life look like?
It is possible to stop pretending?
Is it possible to redeem a pretend world beyond a pretend redemption?
I like that last question.....
that's enough for now.


posted by riddle at 8:15 AM | |