Communism, Consumerism & The Human Body (#MythOfNormal)

ITS ALL GOOD

(Picture: Bret Polok via Creative Commons)

In the world we live in, lots is talked about the best context for us doing life here on this earth. And what often happens is we hear about this battle between individualism, and doing things in community. Some people talk about us all being ourselves, being unique, non-conformist, saying that’s the way to live. Others say it’s all about community, no role for the individual, we all need to work together and live in harmony.

The problem is, taken to their extreme, these concepts can be incredibly damaging. We’ve seen the extreme version of the community concept in the ideology of Communism, which we saw politically in large parts of the 20th century, and which didn’t really work.

But now we have the alternative running rampant in our culture. It’s called consumerism. This is the complete opposite of communism in many ways – it’s all about the individual. It’s about putting me first, and everyone else second. If others have to suffer for me to get my success, that’s fine – as long as we can’t see it. The world revolves around the individual, there is little trust left, and real, authentic community is lost.

And it’s just as flawed as communism.

The truth about what it means to be human lies, in fact, somewhere in between the two.

The best metaphor for this, is, in fact, a body. The human body is amazing. We have miles and miles of DNA strands (enough to go from here to the moon and back 300 times – for each human being), miles of blood veins, and get an entirely new body every 9 months as our body reproduces itself through DNA. We are made of many intricate parts which all come together to make a human body work.

All of them, individually, doing their job. Fulfilling the role they were uniquely created to do. And if they didn’t then we just wouldn’t function. We’d get ill or die.

Not every part of the human body can be a hand. Or an eye. Or a lung. Or a vein or DNA strand. But without one of them doing it’s job, fulfilling what it was designed for, then the whole thing falls apart.

And each part is unique. It’s not trying to be anything else other than what it should be. In many ways, it’s an individual. But at once, it is useless on it’s own. It doesn’t work effectively, it can’t reach it’s full potential.

Each part of the human body is unique, individual, with it’s own role to play. Yet if each one tries to do it alone, the human body won’t work effectively.

Without community, it loses it’s purpose.

And this is the model for how human beings were designed to live.

Paul touches on this metaphor in scripture – he talks about Christians being the ‘body of Christ’. Interestingly, he never mentions it relation to the word church directly – and lets be honest, the Christian church doesn’t always act like a body in harmony, does it?

But this is what church was meant to look like.  I found it fascinating recently to hear about a ‘church’ which has begun meeting in London. A community of people getting together to have community each week. And it’s not Christian, or of any other religious belief. It’s just people meeting for community together.

If that’s not a sign we need community, I don’t know what is.

It’s a unique mix of individualism and community, which is our model for being fully human. (you can tweet that here)

Discovering our unique identity away from cultural concepts of ‘normal’, away from the stories our society tells us we have to live, instead living the one designed uniquely for us.

And doing this in the context of community. Being accountable to one another. Supporting one another. Using our gifts in conjunction with one another to serve the common good.

Because being divinely human as we were created to, is at about learning to be individually, uniquely you, in the body of our collective humanity.

And you can only discover your unique story in the context of community.

 

 

Do you agree with me or disagree with me? Why?

What examples do you know of communities which stimulate individual growth?

How do we balance individual growth and life in community?

 

 

 

Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

 

 

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20 Comments

  1. Helen Murray on November 11, 2013 at 5:56 pm

    Yes. I’m with you on this. In fact, I think we were on the same wavelength today!
    Unique and precious and each one of us made to reflect a different and distinct facet of the Creator. Together we make the big picture. Encouraging and awe-inspiring all at once.
    Thank you, James.

    • James Prescott on November 11, 2013 at 6:32 pm

      Thanks so much for your amazing comment Helen – really encouraged me, thanks so much. Totally agree with you, glad we’re on the same wavelength here! 🙂

  2. troy mc laughlin on November 11, 2013 at 6:16 pm

    James love this post mate. Doing our jobs but in the context of community is what’s needed. Great example of using the human body. Thanks.
    #dudewriters4ever

    • James Prescott on November 11, 2013 at 6:32 pm

      No problem mate, thanks for the encouragement – always appreciated. #dudewriters4ever

  3. Elyse Salpeter on November 11, 2013 at 6:20 pm

    You are so right about this – I think sometimes people forget that all of us, together, make our world a better place. It’s not just “me, me, me.” I don’t know what has to happen, though, for people to change their mentality – I would hate for it to be something bad before they finally wake up, you know?

    • James Prescott on November 11, 2013 at 6:31 pm

      Yep, I know. Usually takes something dramatic and painful. And we usually go the opposite extreme, instead of finding balance, which is the real answer. Great comment Elyse, thanks 🙂

  4. Bob Nailor on November 11, 2013 at 6:38 pm

    Good post James. i was once asked how the Christian Church can exist in so many different formats if we all believe in one true god? At first I was stumped then realized, we each have our own way of believing and talking to God. Those who have a similar belief create a church to allow them to gather.Almost every civilization has believed in God, even the Romans. They created “gods” to handle the many facets of the Supreme Being. It is in the community of our faith that we can come together as a people. Similar to the Trinity, we are alone yet we exist within a group and also with the community. We are single, several and many.

    • James Prescott on November 11, 2013 at 6:44 pm

      Absolutely spot on Bob, totally agree. This is a top comment, thanks for sharing it.

    • Onisha Ellis on November 11, 2013 at 10:56 pm

      Love what you said Bob. We are single, several and many.

  5. Chris Morris on November 11, 2013 at 6:44 pm

    I enjoy the way you teased out the Pauline metaphor of the body outside the context of church. I have never considered this, but it is so true. The only normal we really have is this sense of interdependence, in which we seek out what we were uniquely created to do, but only in the context of community.

    • James Prescott on November 11, 2013 at 6:45 pm

      Thanks for the encouragement Chris, the model of the body is the way we were designed to live. This what I hope to draw out more in future, in my blog and in the Myth of Normal book – which is my next project after the grace book. Thanks again, great comment.

  6. Tara Fairfield on November 11, 2013 at 7:01 pm

    I totally agree! God gave us each gifts to use as part of the larger community of believers, we aren’t meant to go through life on our own. I don’t know what I’d do without my christian family, who encourage me even when life’s rough.

    • James Prescott on November 11, 2013 at 7:04 pm

      Thanks Tara, really appreciate your comment – glad you agree!

  7. Onisha Ellis on November 11, 2013 at 11:01 pm

    My husband is nothing like me. There are things I can do much better than him. Conversly there are things he does far better than I do. We respect each others strengths as well as weakness. Now that we are older, we often wonder how one will cope without the other. We are individuals but work best in community with each other.

    • James Prescott on November 12, 2013 at 6:40 am

      Great example Onisha, it’s awesome how we are so different and unique, yet fit together in community so well – it’s how it was meant to be. Thanks for this comment & sharing this metaphor with us.

  8. lisajey on November 12, 2013 at 2:37 am

    Great post James… I also equate this dichotomy to a symphony… every single instrument, every note has its part — love that. It is so important to maintain a sense of ourselves while still working *with* others for the greater good. Thanks for the post! Good one!

    • James Prescott on November 12, 2013 at 6:42 am

      Great metaphor Lisa Jey, was another one I thought about using – an orchestra doesn’t work if everyone plays the same instrument. Everything is different, yet comes together to bring us something beautiful. Thanks for the comment, appreciate it!

  9. Shelley DuPont on November 12, 2013 at 11:13 am

    It’s very interesting how the body of Christ is meant to work. Scripture tells us those who are blessed with much aren’t to keep it for themselves, but to share where it’s needed. We’re told to take care of the widows in the church. Building more barns to house our goods is totally against God’s word, it feeds the avarice greed. Sadly, not every believer obeys God’s command of the tithe and the offering. They cheat themselves from God’s blessings in their lives. So-we (the individual believer)have the freedom to earn what we can, but we are expected to use the blessing of our income for God’s glory. Good post, James.

  10. Terrie Coleman on November 27, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    Great post, James. It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. and then Friday is “Black Friday” – a day of insane shopping – the ultimate example of consumerism. It’s just not my thing at all and is not necessarily for spiritual reasons. I’ve always been that way.

    Two words came to mind while I was reading your post: Thankfulness and Contentment. I want more of those in my heart and life, and less of the “I want, I need, I wish I had’s” – working on that.

    I long for more “community” and “connectedness” with in the local body of Christ and just in the neighborhood. But for various reasons, that is not really possible. But I know the longing for that is from the Lord. Even God walked with Adam in the garden, in the cool of the day. I wonder what they talked about?

  11. Sherrey Meyer on February 10, 2014 at 12:17 am

    I’m so glad I came across the post. It gave me pause to think back just a few months ago when I completed six years of mentoring young mothers of preschoolers aka MOPS. Our church chartered the group almost a decade ago, and the unique quality of this group is that membership in our church and in fact no faith walk at all was required to be a member of MOPS. Our hope and dream was to build a community of support and encouragement for young women living many, many miles away from family and the support that comes from family. At one point, we had so many children in our care program on the alternate Fridays we met, we could take no more per the fire marshall’s regulations. The growth was phenomenal! What an amazing experience to be part of a group that came together as a body — much like the parts of the body with varied gifts and purposes — and supported and encouraged each other with the end result being many found themselves wanting to become members of our church or another, and many found for the first time what God could do for them and through them. Did I mention how much I loved being part of this community/group/body of women???

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