the joshschuler experiment

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton is a classic work. It’s old. It’s stood the test of time, and it’s one of those books that I keep coming back to. Some say that Orthodoxy profoundly influenced the writings of C.S. Lewis (must’ve been cause his name is two initials as well). For a number of reasons, It has deeply influenced me as well.

In the 4th chapter (the Ethics of Elfland) Chesterton describes a scene where a young office boy is dismissed,

“Ah, yes, when one is young, one has these ideals in the abstract and these castles in the air; but in middle age they all break up like clouds, and one comes down to a belief in practical politics, to using the machinery one has and getting on with the world as it is…..”

Maybe you have seen this scene before. Maybe this statement is ringing in your ears. Maybe you wanted to see change. Maybe you had some high ideals and after continued disappointment you gave up. You decided that they were right, and you decided to play practical politics. I’ll admit that I wrestle with that tension also. Am I just a naive kid who doesn’t have enough perspective to see that my dreams will never reach fruition? Should I just tuck tail and reshape my expectations to be satisfied with status quo? Should I just be satisfied in the small victories and relinquish hope for something greater?

It appears as if this is the position we are encouraged to take whether it be in our communities of faith, our organizations, our even our nation. If we were to use the last presidential election as an example, we would find that with the high ideals and hope for change in practical politics, the reality is that the politics prove an unenviable foe.

The problem for me in all of this is that while we bicker over the terms of our positioning and politicking, people are being lost. Lost to systems, lost to pain, lost to fear, lost to hate, and from my perspective as a minister, lost to the greatest hope they could ever know.

Chesterton’s response to the naysayers resonates in my ears,

“…Thus, at least, venerable and philanthropic old men now in their honoured graves used to talk to me when I was a boy. But since then I have grown up and have discovered that these philanthropic old men were telling lies. What has really happened is the opposite of what they said would happen. They said I should lose my ideals and begin to believe in the methods of practical politicians. Now, I have not lost my ideals in the least; my faith in fundamentals is exactly what it always was. What I have lost is my old childlike faith in practical politics.”

So, I cling to my ideals and my hopes for change. I recognize that I have some blind spots (limited perspective), and I am seeking awareness rather than ignorance, but I refuse to give in to practical politics of “that’s how we’ve always done it” or “that’ll never change”.

Change does occur. Movements take shape. Hope is present. It only takes a few who listen to the naysayers and believe that they are simply old philanthropic men who are telling lies.