Dr. John E. Johnson

Dr. John E. Johnson
Blog, Life Issues

The Centering That Comes With Summer

Three summer reads, up here in the Washington wilderness, have given me a better sense of where our culture is today—

The Second Mountain, David Books

How to Survive the Apocalypse, Robert Joustra

Suicide of the West, Jonah Goldberg

None have been easy reads, but then, a steady diet of daily news and social media leave one thin. No wonder Goldberg observes, “We drown in information but we starve for knowledge.” It’s one of the advantages of getting away from the daily toxicity and grifterism that seek to have me in their grip.  

Each book has its own message, but all three circle around this one core theme—our self-centeredness. Ours is a world of rampant individualism—individual success, self-fulfillment, individual freedom, and self-actualization. We’ve heard it all before. Frank Sinatra put all of this to music back in 1969—

For what is a man, what has he got?

If not himself, then he has naught

To say the things he truly feels

And not the words of one who kneels

More than ever, our age reflects what Joustra refers to as “an anthropocentric shift,” a turn toward putting the human person at the center of the universe as the creator of meaning. Goldberg adds, “We are becoming what we worship, and what we worship is ourselves.” Our feelings have become an end in themselves. And all of this, according to Brooks, is “a catastrophe.”  

Self-indulgence and self-worship might feel good, but they “strip men of their chests.” They leave us ill-equipped to defend some sense of meaning. Making ourselves and our feelings the ultimate authority not only leave us confused and polarized—they do not have a good end. As Joustra puts it, “Ironically, though we live in in a universe where we are in charge, all we see on the horizon is our end. This is dystopia.” 

All of this is inevitable when we stop looking up to God.

Which brings me to a wonderful moment kayaking on the Pend Oreille early this morning. I was drawn to look up, as well as look into Psalm 139 and reflect on its centering words. Here, to use the paraphrase of Eugene Peterson, we are reminded that—

-we are an open book to God—he knows what we are thinking, what we are going to say, and where we are going. He even sees us in the dark, where no one else can see

-God knows us inside out—every bone in our bodies, and how we were sculpted by him. He has watched us grow from conception to birth—all of our stages of life are spread out before him

-before we have lived one day, God has prepared them all.

How could we ever think that all of this life is about us and our plans? How could we ever imagine we set the lines, determine what is right, and control our destinies? We are here to simply honor our Maker and Lord and do his will.  

These are the lyrics we should sing, ones that define reality—

For what is a person, what has one got?

If not God, then one has naught

To say the things one truly feels

Must be the words of one who kneels

2 Comments
  • Rez
    12:48 AM, 19 August 2019

    Excellent thoughts. Can be caught up at times thinking “Look how good I did!” and God might be thinking, “Look how good I helped you do.” Thank you for reminding us, that we need to honor God with what we do and accomplish.

  • Bud
    11:56 AM, 20 August 2019

    Great retreat to Psalm 139. One could also go back to Ecclesiastes and reflect on how Solomon, purportedly the world’s wisest, yet sought everything beyond God before realizing the frustration of it all. For you and me, if we are running the race to win, the work required leaves little time for drifting into self. The runner works on his mind, his soul, and his body on a significant and constant basis and cares little about self. It is all about the race, the cloud of witnesses, and winning for the majesty.

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