Wednesday, January 19, 2011
"The Inner Ring"
Today's reading really challenged me. It's so easy to get caught up in trying to get into a certain circle that you forget your purpose. By 'circle' I mean group of people you want to be associated with or relate to. Lewis describes this "dilemma" of rings very well: "...one of the most dominant elements is the desire to be inside the local Ring and the terror of being left outside". We as humans want so badly to fit in with the people around us. We thrive on the appreciation, acceptance, and adoration given by others. It's terrifies us to think about being alone or unwanted. When we belong to a group, we feel important and valued as people. One longs so deeply to fit in that "Unless you take measures to prevent it, this desire is going to be one of the chief motives of your life". This made me wonder.. is trying to fit in everywhere I go a goal in my life? Of course when I started waitressing last summer I felt like I needed to become one of the "them" (the waitresses) or else work wouldn't be much fun. Freshman year of college I found a solid group of people I call my friends and I'm still close with them today. Now, there is nothing wrong with belonging to a group (or even many groups for that matter) but, the problem occurs when belonging to a group consumes you and you become a different person to fit the mold of a certain ring. That thought fits perfectly with my last quote from CS Lewis. He says, "The quest for the Inner Ring will break your heart unless you break it". We shouldn't be driven by the need or want to fit in with a certain clique. If that's what motivates you, you will be easily broken. Your real motivation should come from the Lord. Life is hard and people won't always like you. This may sound harsh but if life wasn't hard at some points, the happy and enjoyable times in life wouldn't be worth near as much.
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I really liked the points you made. We are really such social beings. Friendship and acceptance are so important to us, even to a point where it becomes dangerous for our own health. Which is why we must be so careful.
ReplyDeleteI like how you said "if life wasn't hard at some points, the happy and enjoyable times in life wouldn't be worth near as much." I heard a sermon once about our uncertainties being a blessing because once we are finally certain about something, it's so much more significant to us having gone through that period of uncertainty. That's just like going through the deserts and coming out-we see more beauty in our present situation compared to what we just went through.
ReplyDeleteI feel like sometimes it's the belonging itself that can injure the actual goodness of the group. Once that belonging overshadows your belonging to God in your actions and emotions, then the group becomes an issue.
ReplyDeleteI think that the root of what Lewis is getting at is idolatry. Once we make belonging to a group of people more important than belonging to the body of believers, we are pursuing ourselves rather than the purposes of God.
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