The abstract and hard to adequately define word, ‘I’
Justin Topp of the Science and Theology blog (Subtitled; A biologist’s view of science & religion), a quite fascinating blogger, has posed a seemingly simple question:
….How do you personally define the word “I”?
I imagine there could be a plethora of different approaches to answering this question and I ventured the obscure statement:
I find the very concept of hell entwined with that very small word…
Justin responded:
Stuart… interesting stuff. Care to expand and make me feel even more condemned?
This was my rather brutally honest answer:
Oh gosh I don’t want anyone to feel condemned, there’s enough of that going around already.
I’m prone to ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ (physiological not reactive depression), however, there is one constant in the depressed state and that is being consumed with ‘I’.
Poor me, what about me, why me, etc, all focused around me, myself, and I.
‘Up’ periods are focused on those around me, and of course God.
And so for me (and I must stress this is a personal confession) my worst times are when I am solely focused on ‘I’ at the expense of all others. This truly is hell, albeit a living one.
For me this is a simple truth, that to be completely self-absorbed is indeed a highway to a personal living hell. The antidote to this encapsulates the entirety of the essence and missive of Christ. The true message is to love others and love God. The core of the work of Jesus revolves around communicating the laying down of your own life for others, and to forgo self, or ‘I’.
This is true human liberation in every sense.
Do pop over to Justin’s blog and venture your defintion of ‘I’.
Tags: Christian Life, Christianity