One-Million Dimensional
It’s really easy to put people in boxes and then only see the box, not the person.
I know, because I’ve done it.
I also know what being put in a box feels like, and it feels like one big misunderstanding. How many of us feel misunderstood? How many times do we misunderstand others?
I’ve been walking out this Christian life for longer than I recognize (because God chose me before I chose Him) and I’m finally getting used to the fact that so much of this life intertwined with God is mysterious, upsetting, unnerving, practical, impractical, hard, easy, ugly, and beautiful. It’s complex, like I am.
Life and people are full of complexities. When we box them up we take the easy road. We can move and place boxes without looking inside. The black ink on the front says, “Fragile” or “Trash” or “Emerging” or “Fundie” or whatever and so we don’t have to think. But God doesn’t do that – He doesn’t put us in a box, he unwraps our hearts. He pursues our souls and He invites the ugly. People are wildly intricate and messy and fascinating. If we box people up, we close up the opportunity to really love. People are one-million dimensional.
I think sometimes we create boxes because we forget that the Bible, the Word, is alive and active, able to reach deep into the complexities of the human. That Word made flesh works inside, in the deep places, piercing souls and spirit, joints and marrow. There is nothing superficial about the work that goes on behind the flesh. The knitting of our being by the Creator of everything is too much to wrap our minds around, let alone put a box around. This is why the greatest commandment is to love. We just don’t understand the big picture; we cannot see the completion that God sees.
Boxes are walls that keep us from getting too close to each other.
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Photo Credit: Boxed In by Vincent Malone
so true! I have put people in a box but it's getting better. Or ~ I'm learning to understand more. To actually take the time to understand more. I have been put in box several times and it's hard to break out. Sometimes, it's easier to live with the misconceptions (even negative ones) than to keep trying. :( I'm trying to find the balance between trying and letting go.
I think you are right. I have been boxed before too. I never appreciated it. But God is complex, yet He reveals Himself to us through His Word. I don't believe that He wants us taking the "parts" of Him that we do not understand, or do not fully comprehend, and trying to explain them away in human terms. In cases of teachers of His Word, they will be judged a bit harsher. James 3:1
While I am sensitive to being judged or "boxed" as you would call it, I would say that if I were to put myself out there as a teacher of God's Word, I would certainly WANT to be open to criticism or correction. I do not want to be one who distorts or attempt to understand what God has not given me to understand. It would be of utmost importance to me that I not be one of the teachers listed in 2 Peter 2:1. Therefore, I would want people to discern my words and call me out when I am wrong. If I didn't desire that, then I would be dangerous.
On the other hand, I am discovering so many different denominational beliefs right now that I adore. I am reading a book written by a Presbytarian, friends with Apostolic and Pentecostals, observing Lent for the first time (I grew up thinking it was only a Catholic holiday) and discovering a whole world of Reformed Theology. It is quite amazing, and I do not believe that any one denomination holds the market on truth.
Yes, I completely agree that a teacher of God's Word must be open to correction. I also think it is important for leaders in the church to correct false teaching – sometimes that can be hard, but with the Spirit of Wisdom and truth and can and must be done.
You are so right Sarah Mae, correction is one of those areas that is so tender, however it can be done and done in a way that shows both love and compassion.
Great post – We need to step outside that box and tear the ones we have up down..
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Great thoughts, Sarah Mae! It is very hard for us not "box" people (and God) up. Our minds comprehend things much better if they are packaged nice and neatly. The problem comes when we come to believe (which INVARIABLY happens) that our boxes are the Truth. I am a middle-aged bald woman. But I am MORE than that. I am a wife. But I am MORE than that. I am a mother of 8. But I am MORE than that. Boxes are ONLY helpful when they seek to clarify – but we use them to DEFINE; to define others as well as God.
I love your imagry of "unwrapping". If we look at the boxes we've built around others to help us understand them WITH A GOAL to unwrap and DISCOVER who they are inside the box, more fully, then we can learn to love them more fully. But unfortunately, we use the boxes as a way to define and pigeon hole them so we don't HAVE to love them or ever truly know them.
Great encouragement in those sweet words! Thanks.
I've never been a big fan of labels. I love digging for treasure-those qualities in people that we don't often see when we are too hasty in our judgments of others. It isn't always easy, especially when people put labels on themselves and hide behind them, but finding those gems are always worth it!
Here is a thought, some people will put themselves in a box as a protection. It is those people we really need to show the love of the Father and accept them without judging them. http://tracyscoffeecafe.wordpress.com/
So true! God doesn't box us in at all, but puts in this wide world and knows that we're capable of great things. I'm grateful He's is patient with us as we're busy boxing each other and ourselves.
This one has me thinking….
Right on sista! :) My husband and I lead a community where our mission is to "live, serve and think outside of the box". It's an uncomfortable place when you first get started. There are no corners to hide behind…no safe "we've always done it that way" precepts to bank your decisions on…But, I have to say, once you've stepped outside the box, and you've breathed in the fresh air…the more of that air you take in and learn to depend on for healthy, vibrant living….there is no way you'll ever want to go back.
~Kristin
and some people don't want to be unboxed. And that's ok too. I think each person has an unraveling to go through, but it takes time and we need to be patient with them. I don't consider myself in a box, but others do and they try to cram me into one and it's hurtful. A fundie might put me in one box while a reformer might put me in another. I can't fit into all those boxes at the same time. I don't want to fit into any of those boxes, and I might peek into them once in a while and I might crawl in to see what the view is like for them, but I don't stay there. I glean what I can from them and see how it works outside the box. What works for me, I testify of and what doesn't work for me I also testify of. That is our freedom. I view God as the wind in a storm and a calm breeze in a field of daisies. He can be the bright light in the morning or the moonlight at night. He's everything to me. He's my disciplinarian and my encourager. It takes a lot of patience for us all to get along in this Family and sometimes it's ok to walk a different path and we need to allow each other the freedom to do so in love.
I like your post. Thank goodness God doesn't put us in a box. In would be a pretty smashed and caved in one. And your post reminded me not to put people in a box, too. Thanks.