The Absurdity of it All

When I was in high school, one of my favorite classes was “Speech and Drama.” It allowed us to act out our naturally whimsical teenage passions with approval. Popular during this time was an element of drama known as “theater of the absurd.” Growing out of the existential world view that was popularized by modern writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, the essence of the absurd plots is the proposition that man is born into a world without purpose, and that he must commit himself to a cause for his life to have any meaning. It’s easy to understand how this existential concept of life became so popular in the post WWII years. Never mind who introduced it to the world stage, it was Sartre that adopted its tenets and became the major influence for its impetus in the literary circles of post war Europe. When considering what the world, particularly Europe, went through in the preceding decade, what we discovered about the depths to which man was capable sinking, and by observing the landscape that remained, it’s not difficult to see that absurdity is a natural calculus. Surviving to this very day, I see the tentacles of absurdity in just about every endeavor of life’s theater. Elvis sang, “All the world’s a stage and each must play a part.” When one looks at the political stage, the world of entertainment, the biting confrontations between people in our own neighborhoods, one wants to shrug the shoulders and wag the head and wonder just where these people get their scripts for the parts they are playing. Just yesterday I noticed an article in the newspaper about a convicted murderer in prison who is seeking a taxpayer-funded sex change operation and has asked a judge to order electrolysis treatments to eliminate the stress of unwanted facial hair. The absurdity of this scenario goes even further. The judge is actually deliberating on the prospect of approval.

When one looks at the world from the inside – out, the only conclusion available is that life and existence are absolute absurdities. We are relegated to seeing from a finite human perspective that shows us nothing but what the capacity of our self-contained bodily systems will allow. But our design doesn’t end with our own limited reach. In his “Confessions” Augustine said, speaking of God, “. . . our hearts are restless till they find rest in thee.” Until we find our purpose in God, we will ever be searching and ever be disappointed. We will search the stars and hope for a signal; we will build ziggurats in our quest for significance; we will annihilate our kinsmen to prove our worth. But only God can satisfy the longing; only he can lend meaning in a world that seems too bizarre for description; only the designer can reveal the blueprint. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) We don’t have to be satisfied with absurdity. This world is not our destination. The sex-change loonies don’t have to define the meaning of our reality. When we turn our existence over to Christ, we will essentially transfer our citizenship to heaven; (Eph. 2:6) and “old things are passed away, the old life is gone, a new life has begun.” (2 Cor. 5:17) So, when the zanies start to close in on you, when it appears that the inmates are running the institution – rejoice and repeat after me: “Hallelujah! I’ve read the end of the book, and we win!!!

Loss of Shame

I enjoy playing guitar and singing to entertain myself and amuse others. Though, when I first began to take up guitar playing it was a struggle to make my fingers do what I wanted them to do and after a few moments on the strings my finger tips would hurt. The longer I spent pushing down on the fret the more painful it was. Nevertheless, I persisted in cultivating the guitar practice because the payoff was satisfying for me. After awhile my finger tips began to develop calluses, the discomfort of holding down the strings faded and I was able to spend hours and hours on the guitar with no pain or tenderness at all.

In the early 1970s George Carlin got a lot of mileage out of his LP monologue "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” Not only were there verbal restrictions then but there were prohibitions on what could have been considered proper viewing. Today, not only are those words permissible on TV but what is now condoned in the way of language, violence, gratuitous sex and horror is light years from those early proscriptions. What used to solicit a sense of shame in us now hardly makes a dent in our sensitivity. However, we didn’t go to bed on Thursday with a conscience and wake up on Friday amoral. We had to “practice” and cultivate this loss of shame. We deliberately built up calluses on our individual and collective consciences. In attempting to satisfy our voracious appetites it was necessary to start small and keep at it until those minor moral discomforts eventually dissipated and our consciences became seared. (1 Tim 4:2)

Is there any hope for our present condition? My wife and I are re-watching the wonderful 1980s television mini-series, Herman Wouk’s “War and Remembrance.” Yet, the scenes that depict the treatment and disposition of European Jews in Theresienstadt and Auschwitz serve as a reminder that the depths to we are capable of descending is almost unimaginable. Once thing is certain, once the conscience is disposed of we’re lost. Without shame we have become slaves to our appetites and eventual destruction. However, there is one – possible – escape. “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Rom 6:17-18) Christ will break those chains around your conscience and set your free. You can’t so it yourself – only He can. Ask Him and He’ll do it. Your choice.

Apathy or Peace

When I was doing first sergeant duty in the Air Force it was necessary at times to discharge personnel because of their incompatibility with military life. One of the phrases I used to see on the paperwork crossing my desk was “unsuitability, apathy, defective attitudes & inability to extend effort constructively.” The airmen weren’t necessarily ignorant, lazy, or insubordinate. Most often they just seemed to be incapable of discipline or orderly conduct. This presented problems within the unit for two reasons. First, if they were not pulling their weight, job completion was jeopardized. Second, if the job was to be completed, someone else had to pick up the slack. The unsuitable airman created a net drag on organizational effectiveness.

Lately I think of those airmen when I consider how to respond to today’s political insanity. Honestly, I often feel apathetic and incapable to making any kind of significant constructive effort toward resolution. Oh, I write my senators and my representative often and with zeal and serious concern. My congressman feels as I do and so writing him is simply an initiative in kudos. My senators do not share my views and indeed often respond with form letters that make me wonder if they actually received the letter I sent, since their responses bear no resemblance to the topic I mentioned or do not address the points I wanted addressed. Also, I make periodic contribution to political action committees that highlight my concerns and to candidates that run on issues dear to me. But, I’m often disappointed in the measure of difference my contributions seem to make. Further, I write letters to the editors, notes to officials, and essays on my personal blog. Still, I’m never certain about my usefulness as a citizen or how constructive my efforts are. Should I be discharged from the arena of public policy?

I have come to a conclusion: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:5-7) Jesus said it this way in His “lilies of the field” advice in Matthew 6:25-34, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matt 6:27) Certainly that doesn’t mean to simply sit on my keister and expect the Holy Servant to do my bidding. But it does mean I am to trust Him for my welfare. You can call it The Serenity Prayer or Que Sera, Sera but I’ve no doubt that He has provided me with gifts and talents to expend as far as they go yet the accomplishment is His and the peace should be mine. There will be times, perhaps often, that I will be disappointed in the political landscape despite my efforts and energies. Yet, in the realm of really important matters, I know He is my comfort and my shelter. So when you see that resignation on my face, it’s not apathy . . . it’s peace.