Wulf

I promised myself I would post today. I honestly have trouble writing on this or any blog, and it’s not for lack of things to write about. When I write, I spend more time editing and proof reading than I do writing. The times that I actually publish anything on this blog are the times that I decide - before I write even one word - I decide that I won’t edit, that I’m just going to write.

So here I am - writing a post about my disdain for mediocrity and not even allowing myself the luxury of editing this post.

:-) 

I had been taking a hiatus from reading Kierkegaard for the past month or so, but I’ve started up again. These past two days he’s been talking about mediocrity - about lukewarmness - and not in regards to one’s work or output or style of living, but in regards to one’s faith.

I don’t have the book in front of me, so I’ll paraphrase - He brings up the example of 2 very well respected Christian leaders in Denmark, each of them respected for different reasons. He summarizes both careers with the end note that both men - for their end goal - that both men were striving after something inherently worldly. Their teachings and lives were by all accounts Christian except in the most important way.

Both of these men had earthly goals. The first man did indeed spend his life as a priest, daily preaching Christianity from the puplit - but only for a steady job and salary provided by this government position. The second man fought for the freedom to practice Christianity freely without persecution from his government. While noble, he would have been quite content once his government gave him this freedom - he wasn’t fighting for Christianity, he was fighting for an earthly freedom.

Kierkegaard goes on to describe that a true Christian, a “Christian of the New Testament” as it must be defined since “Christian” is already such a loaded term, in both his time and ours - a true Christian must hate this world, must hate all that this world offers - money, status, titles, even family. A true Christian must suffer for their faith. Anything less is mediocrity. Anything less is lukewarmness. Anything less is stale and passive.

So what do I think about all this? At the very least - I agree that every Christian must be willing to suffer for Christ. I don’t know that I would go so far as to say that it’s a requirement. Kierkegaard is very firm that suffering for faith is a requirement of any true Christian.

Whenever I have these discussions in my own mind, or often with my brother, I always come down with “I must always be a servant to Christ first.” My goal must always be to do whatever it is that Christ wants me to do. If that leads me into suffering, then so be it. Whatever the outcome on whatever the day, that is what I should do, and Christ shouldn’t expect anything less of me. There should be no mediocrity in my resolve to do His will. As long as that is true, then I don’t need to worry about suffering, or not suffering, or food, or where I will work, or where I will live, or if today will be any better or worse than the last. The most important thing - always - is do do whatever it is that Christ commands me.

All that to say, mediocrity in any form is worse than failure, and doubly so in faith.