READY Unit Part 3

So this Sunday's video and discussion was perhaps a bit harder than the previous, and I want to take a moment to remind you all of something I think is VERY important to remember, but that I perhaps don't stress as much as I should:

I don't expect you to have all the answers and I don't expect you to 100% understand everything we discuss.

I really, really don't! We talk about some deep things in youth group BECAUSE I don't expect you to have spent much time thinking through them before this- though I always offer the opportunity for input if you already have. These are things that all of us will spend the rest of our lives trying to puzzle out. The point of faith is never to feel like you understand every nuance and every possible outcome of a situation or a question- the point is to be engaged in it, searching for God in every moment of your life. And the beautiful thing is that you WILL figure some things out, and that God won't leave you to plateau with that revelation. He'll give you some new insight to puzzle over; you get to keep growing your entire life, or at least, as long as you're willing to grow.

So we talk about these things to give you a start, to help you think, to help you explore- what are the impacts of your own life? What are your passions and what are your gifts and what are your struggles? Sunday was a discussion of struggle- and when we pick up again in a few weeks, we'll go over our strengths and explore ways that others have contributed to the overwhelming goodness of God's kingdom on earth.

So. The struggles. And particularly the struggles we don't want to see- the ubiquitous human condition called "Willful Blindness." Otherwise known as refusing to acknowledge what's right in front of your face. Missing the forest for the trees. Sticking your head in the sand.

These are not the areas of darkness we have no clue exist. Willful blindness is first and foremost WILLFUL. Intentionally ignoring something because we don't want to admit that it might just be true. Knowing there might be an issue and refusing to do anything about it. And we all of us do it- for better or worse, it's a coping mechanism. So why do we do it?

• Fear of having to change jobs, relationship status, routines, homes, etc.
• Fear of retribution or personal danger (i.e.- the number one reason people don't call out the mob)
• Apathy
• Disbelief/Overconfidence in humanity- no one could really let things get like that!
• Analysis Paralysis-  conflicting areas of concern may make you feel so paralyzed as to how to react that you simply ignore them both
• Distraction- having too much on your plate may make it easy to jump to another, more pleasant idea or simply force you to think about the next most urgent thing instead
• Lack of knowledge- feeling like you don't know enough to do anything; usually combined with other issues (such as distraction/lack of time to research or fear of what more information might call you to do)
• Lack of integrity- not caring whether your beliefs and your actions/lifestyle are in agreement
• Disbelief in equality of persons- "Who cares what happens to them? They deserve what they get."
• Personal state of mind- when you're overwhelmed by something else in your life, you may be incapable of dealing with any other issues

Once we know why we choose to not explore an issue, and we recognize that not all of them are personal moral failures, we can start to explore some of those areas that we've been intentionally ignoring. It's important to note here, though, that you can acknowledge areas that you've been willfully ignoring without feeling like you need to tackle all of them at once. That would be horribly overwhelming and your burnout would do even less good in the end! Better to start acknowledging one (or two or five or...) and then pick just one issue to explore. If you find that it leads you into another area of blindness, and you have the energy to explore that, then continue on! But also feel good that you've started, no matter how quickly you move forward.

With that mindset of new beginnings, we started our list modeled after the El Salvadorian subversive cross- things that we know are problems but might be willfully ignoring. Our list is ongoing- I want you to keep adding to it as you see issues, any time you feel the urge. Whether or not you can take action on the issue at this moment of time, simply writing the word for others to see might just encourage and inspire them to take a stand (for an example of this, click on the video below). Recognition is always the first step forward!

If you'd like to do a bit more exploring on the subject of willful blindness and the positive pieces of this challenge, I invite you to watch this short clip from an interview with the ever-brilliant Margaret Heffernan. She does a great job of explaining how tackling the challenges might not be as hard as we think!

And, as always, I invite you to get together with me outside of youth group to go over things we that you have questions about, want more information on, or simply need a set-apart time to process!

5 Minutes of God Time: The Cave by Mumford and Sons