Does comfort and freedom force us to live boring lives? I believe we are a product of our choices but I also believe that our environment shapes us. Do we live in an environment that is set up to make us boring? These thoughts have been firing off as I evaluate the 9 months I have been living in Gainesville.
I have quite a bit of freedom and comfort, even as a support raised “missionary”. (I don’t feel like a missionary, but I don’t really know what to call myself). Has my life become too easy now? When given freedom we tend to choose comfort. We want to be in control, we rather not stir the pot, we want things to be easy, we find ways to get out of more work, we want to be happy and avoid pain. We work hours to maximize our comfort.
But is being comfortable boring? Does being comfortable make for a good screen play? Is being comfortable a life worth living? Is comfortable our purpose? Our society with its freedom has allowed us to choose comfortable, but were we suppose to choose something else?
Any great story involves a protagonist that is anything but comfortable. He or she usually has to endure great pain or tribulation. Just think about the characters in Shawshank Redemption, Braveheart, It’s a Wonderful Life, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Or consider great historical figures: Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther and Jesus. All of them were anything but comfortable.
Why do we enjoy watching great movies? Maybe because secretly or sub-conscientiously we know we were meant to live those kind of stories. For us that have freedom what can we do to choose to live a great story? What risk, pain, and discomfort can we accept to live this story? It doesn’t surprise me that Jesus said we should expect persecution for following him. He has great stories in mind for us to live.
If I am too comfortable, if You are too comfortable maybe we need to double check the story we are creating, or need to create.
Some of these thoughts were inspired by Donald Miller’s book’s, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. I recommend reading it if you are interested in how to live a better story.
