POST 51: Our Stories—and Purposes—Are Interconnected
POST 51
Our Stories—and Purposes—Are Interconnected
We must understand that the highest form of freedom carries with it the greatest measure of discipline.
César Chávez
Freedom requires discipline.
You might be thinking, Way to take freedom and strap expectations on it. I get enough of that already.
But that’s not where we’re going with this! In our society, we’re mostly taught to believe that our own freedom is what counts—and by freedom, we often mean a big bucketful of ideas about personal choices and rights, including the right to basically do “whatever I want because it’s my life.”
Your Life Matters More Than You Know
“It’s my life” isn’t untrue, but it’s not the whole story. Your life is so much more than just yours. And it matters much more than you know.
Here’s an example. César Chávez became a leader of a huge farm-worker movement started by Filipino and Latino immigrants in the mid-1900s, organizing field laborers to advocate for rights to basic dignity and decent pay. These things might seem like no-brainers to us today, but at the time, there were few laws protecting workers’ rights. This meant exploitation and overwork were commonplace. Chávez and other activists like Dolores Huerta were driven to fight for more freedoms because of the injustices they experienced and also by their faith in God. Prayer and worship were central to their activism.
But why would Chávez say, “The highest form of freedom carries with it the greatest measure of discipline”?
Discipline reminds us that we’re never acting all on our own. What we do, watch, eat, buy, wear, share, throw away—it all matters. Our faith helps us see both freedom and discipline as part of a bigger story that realizes what we do with our lives impacts all the people around us. Our families and friends for sure, but even the people we don’t think about very often—like maybe the ones who pick our strawberries in the springtime or clean our schools every evening.
When you put your life into the pages of a bigger story, you become mindful of how your individual story keeps crisscrossing others’ stories. And that might mean:
You stop doing something because it hurts someone else.
You start doing something because it helps someone else.
You think twice about how you spend your money.
You pay attention to what you’re throwing away.
You look another human in the eyes because they deserve to be seen.
All those actions take discipline—the discipline to see that we are responsible for one another’s well-being.
Your life matters so much more than you realize—because your life is interconnected with so many other lives. We belong to one another.
Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. . . .
So the eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” or in turn, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” Instead, the parts of the body that people think are the weakest are the most necessary. The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we honor the most. The private parts of our body that aren’t presentable are the ones that are given the most dignity. The parts of our body that are presentable don’t need this. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the part with less honor so that there won’t be division in the body and so the parts might have mutual concern for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it. You are the body of Christ and parts of each other. (1 Corinthians 12:12, 21–27)
REFLECT AND RESPOND
Journaling Questions
What do you think of the idea that freedom and discipline are bound together? Can you think of examples in history or in your own life where this is true?
How have you experienced the connectedness of “the body of Christ” through the actions of other believers?
How can you use your freedom for the sake of others?
Pray This Prayer
God, thank you for all the freedoms I enjoy in my life and for everything that makes those freedoms possible. Help me to see that my freedom is connected with others’ and to live with the kind of discipline that helps set others free. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SOMETHING TO TRY
Think through your past day or so. Try to imagine the people you came into contact with—maybe even make a list. Now imagine the people you didn’t notice, or didn’t directly see, who were also part of your day. The person who delivered packages to your door. The person who made your fast-food order. You get the idea.
Pick a few people in your orbit—whether you know their names or not—and pray for them for the next week. Ask God to open your eyes to see how your lives are connected.
THE TAKEAWAY
Your story matters not only for you but also for others.