the joshschuler experiment

So every wednesday morning, some of my best friends gather at the local donut shop, the Donut Bank (which is more like a local donut dynasty) to discuss the scriptures and partake of the wonders of the fruit fritter.

This morning we were wading through Ezekiel and lamenting how people are beholden to their idols (that which replaces God) and icons (that which points to God).

It reminded me of another morning at the same shop, but at a different location, and a conversation with a mentor and friend. While we were meeting, my friend stopped our conversation short to point out an elderly gentleman who was walking into the store. My friend told me that every morning when he comes to get coffee at the shop, that elderly man comes in as well, but not before lighting up a cigarette. Here’s where it gets odd.

This elderly gentleman is what we call a “gentleman smoker.” In other words, he never smokes in his home, office, car, or in the presence of his family. (My grandfather was a gentleman smoker and he was so good at it that I never found out until late into my teens.) Anyway, this gentleman leaves his car, strikes a match, and puffs the living hell out of the smoke until he reaches the door. When he reaches the door he conspicuously places the slightly dashed cigarette on the ledge of the outside window sill. He then continues into the store, purchases his coffee and paper, chats with friends, and then leaves. When he leaves, he picks up the half smoked cigarette, revives it, and smokes it until his fingers burn before he gets back into his car.

When I left the shop that morning, I looked at the ledge where he placed his cigarette day after day. I placed my finger on the warm brick. There were charred marks on the wall. I had to wonder how long it takes of this repetitive cycle to char the brick of a building.

This reminds me of Israel, Ezekiel, and embracing things that don’t bring about “life”. It does this in the way that we believe that we can limit the extent of our exile or brokenness by only giving into it when no one is around, or when we think no one will be impacted.

It must be one of the greatest lies ever told.

The condition of that elderly man’s lungs is not limited to the time he spends puffing away. Those lungs are always with him, and will restrict his ability to give life to others, or come to their aid.

We know that our best potential is found in community, but it is the actions and patterns of individuals in the community that affect the health of the whole body.

If you are a part of the body, perhaps a question to ask is whether there is something you are beholden to, that you need to let go of, which is preventing you from being able to speak life to others. Perhaps there is something that is robbing the hope from your participation in the message of the resurrected Christ. If there is, do not be ashamed, but be transformed by the truth, and allow the community to share in helping you to health, so that you are available to others.

I think of Chesterton and his comment that the truly healthy individual understands what is unhealthy about him or herself. This is my pursuit. I want to know my blind spots, and the areas of my life that are unhealthy. The reality is that we often do not recognize where we are unhealthy, because we either think we are healthy (when we’re not) or we don’t want to do the hard thing and find out. All I know is that I really, really want health……for my sake, for other’s sake, and most importantly for the sake of the integrity of hope found in the teachings, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.