what is the better way?

 

"stand by the roads and look and ask 

for ancient paths where the good way is;

and walk in it

and find rest for your souls."

jeremiah 6:16

We look and we ask and we question and we seek. What is the good way? What is the well-paved road that has proven time and time again to be the better way?

We are living in a time unprecedented when it comes to so much and yet there are parallels throughout history, in the lives of our parents and grandparents, in the stories we've heard growing up, in the books we read of people who lived once long ago, in the stories we tell over and over that have similiar themes showing that truly eternity is written on our hearts. We are all drawn to this goodness and beauty that God created us for. 

When it comes to work, finances, raising children, being a friend, following Jesus so much may feel, and is, unprecedented in terms of the details but the overarching truths that history can share with us remains true. Are we seeking it? Are we looking for it?

In every generation, in every cultural shift, there are sentiments that had long been seen as "the way" that are challenged. New sentiments arise, new ways of doing things. There is nothing wrong with accepting these new ways as better ways, but we also need to ensure that we are really asking if this is truly the better way or is this just what culture is saying is the way? Is this simply currently accepted as common practice despite not actually being grounded in truth or goodness or rightness? Should I go against the common practice and try something different? Something new? Or not so new but new to us, something ancient, something long been done before despite now seeming old-fashioned or out of practice?

These are questions we must ask. We must take on the critic's lense, not to critique everything with cyncism but to truly ask questions. When sentiments that have long been held as either good or true are challenged and an opposing position is taken that doesn't mean the opposing side is wrong; however, we can't just assume they are automatically right. 

I listened to a podcast with Andy Crouch and John Mark Comer. Crouch has studied quite a bit the effects of technology in this age and how to live in a world with it taking over almost every aspect of our day. He acknowledged that while the present day is in some ways unprecedented it is also a very ancient struggle, going as far back as the beginning.

"The dream of magic" Crouch says, "traces back to the serpant's insinutation to Adam and Eve that if they just eat the fruit they will have the power and even the qualities they are made with and made for: you will be made like God knowing good and evil." Crouch says that in walking with God Adam and Eve, like us, would grow in their understanding of morality and of his ways. Instead of the serpant saying you will grow to this he says essentially "eat this and it will happen now." Crouch says this is the first "technological" device. A quick, easy, controllable tool to get where they want to be. 

While technology tells us we can get it automatically it only succeeds for so long and this mentatlity runs counter to how true formation as a person happens. "Life and spiritual formation is slow, difficult, and you aren't in control of it," John Mark Comer says. Quite the opposite of technology's promise, however explicit, that we can have things instantly, with ease, and it will put us in control.

I am not suggesting we stop all signs of progress and live with no electricity in the middle of nowhere and grow our own food. I am not suggesting we revert back to ways that were bigoted and immoral, of course. I am suggesting we question. We don't just accept all current claims of truth as truth. 

A dad said recently that he didn't put his athletic son in travel ball because it would be too much time away and too much money to continue doing life as a family unit in a way that was healthy for them. If he was good enough, a college would find him. (A college did, by the way). 

A parent told the school she didn't want her daughter having a laptop and could teachers please print the material instead of giving her assignments online. 

A friend chooses not be on social media. 

A collegue decides not to go on a big vacation because she can't afford it and chooses a different way to rest and relax that fits her current finances. 

A daughter chooses to continue to place boundaries yet still be in contact with her mother despite the many ways she has failed as a mom. 

None of these are the correct way for all but they are for some and the point I'm trying to make is sometimes we think we simply must go along with what the way of the world is, but the truth is we don't. We can choose a different way. We can question and we can say no to things others say yes to and yes to things others say no to. 

Every choice we make in life is going to perhaps give us something and cost us something. We have to be intentional about what we choose, how we live. We are being shaped continually even if we don't know it. We aren't neutral people who go about uneffected. We are always being formed and if we want a part in the formation we have to make intentional, thoughtful choices. 

In looking toward the ancient, in learning from the ancient, we get some relief from feeling like we have to reinvent the wheel. We can look and assess what worked and what didn't and perhaps find some practical measures we can take. Not all choices will be easy. The road likely won't be easy. But it is the better way.