27 August 2023
Who has not seen an American child acting like a brat? They can be petty, materialistic, self-centered, and real a real smart-ass. We may disapprove of such behavior, but it simply shows the essence of what the West is.
To the ancient Hebrews, the West would have seemed childish. That is, the materialism and reliance on reason is what they would have expected from juveniles who had not yet caught on to adult maturity. Refusing to move your conscious awareness from your head to your heart, in their world, would be the mark of immaturity.
Perhaps you've noticed that children are obsessed with the future. That is, they worry about things that haven't happened. They keep bugging adults about what is coming at them, and have almost no patience. Their sense of anticipation is off the scale for both pleasant and unpleasant outcomes, but it's always the material outcomes.
The obsession with future events was not a mark of Hebrew culture, but did become a problem with the exposure to Hellenism. The fantasies about the False Messianic Expectations were all concerned with material outcomes: wealth, domination of men and materials. This is the epitome of childish thinking. It was a future orientation based on the obsession with being dissatisfied with the present.
The entire range of Ancient Near Eastern cultures were focused on living in the moment. The whole point was to be at peace with the divine. There was no obsession with the future; they suffered no angry and self-centered dissatisfaction with the present. That sort of thing was castigated as childish. They were taught to be humble and grateful. Job's initial lines of response to his losses were the common Ancient Near Eastern outlook. He was determined to pass through the pain of the moment regardless how it would be somewhere down the road. He was convinced he was where God wanted Him.
A reader pointed me to a very interesting book of social analysis: Eric Hoffer's The True Believer (Wikipedia is actually one of the best explanations available; you can get your own copy of the book here). The central thesis is that large active political movements rest entirely on the perception of deprivation, the dissatisfaction with current reality, in anticipation of a better reality. Worse, the closer they get to that better reality, the more intense are their feelings of entitlement and deprivation. Those with major problems tend to be quieter. People with minor gripes, the ones already pampered, are the most likely to revolt. This is the quintessence of "childish". It is also the essence of America.
The Bible teaches us that we can trust in God and not get all worked up about the situation in this world. We are encouraged to see the good things God has provided and stay focused on pleasing Him. We are supposed to engage the moment, to sense fully the whole picture from a higher moral consciousness. You ditch the notion of being entitled to something better, because you accept the consequences of the Fall.
Someone like that is not a good prospect for political movements. The whole idea behind faith is to avoid movements altogether. We live in peace and all our hope of progress is internal.
Only children demand external change.
Comments
Fun and Prophet
The church-going man on the street in England used to say, "Mustn't grumble."
Sigma Frame
Good post. The question is this. How much, or what kind of discontent is intended by God to motivate us to action, or is it all just a symptom of not having inner peace and thankfulness? Or is it the same thing?
Catacomb Resident
It's a question of source. The justice of God cannot be found in boisterous movements taking advantage of human emotion. Divine discontent arises from the persistent faith that eventually ripens in just a handful of deeply persuaded men.
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