Submit unto Me!
Or, actually, don't.
Submission is one of those issues that is a real hot-button for me. And by submission, I don't mean letting someone else make a decision when you don't care about the answer. I'm talking about a total giving up of control.
Do we need to give up control? Yes and no. I think we need to stop pretending we have control over things we don't, certainly. I don't control my cats .. and believing I do, or even that I can, is only going to leave me irritated when they go off and do their own cat-thing. (and even if I could control the behavior, their minds are their own). I think submitting one's life to that acceptance of reality is both healthy and necessary.
People mess themselves up all the time trying to control things they can't. And they mess up their lives trying to relinquish control over things they have to take responsibility for. It's a hard balancing act. But it's also really quite pragmatic. Trying to control things that you can't is never going to work, after all, and can only make you miserable trying.
What do we need to submit to? Everything we can't control. That doesn't mean LIKING it, certainly. I can submit to the fact that my baby's teething without liking that fact! But at the same time, I'm not going to punish him for screaming, either. It's not his fault. But until I accept that he's teething, it's not my fault, and it's something we need to get through, I'm going to be trying to handle situations that don't exist. And nothing will get solved.
Moral culpability means it's my choices that caused something. I did it, so I need to fix it. Which means that things that are under my control, I am morally culpable for. Anything outside of my control, not responsible.
Why must we accept a lack of control in our lives? Because as long as we believe we can control everything, we're going to drive ourselves crazy. Much of the daily wrongs that happen in our lives are attempts by people to control things that they can't. And yet we have to accept that we do have control over some things. We control ourselves and our decisions, and we need to take responsibility for that. When we refuse to admit our own responsibility for our own decisions, we also run the risk of committing great evils.
I fear people that refuse to admit they have control over themselves, because they will act as they please and deny the inevitable consequences. And I fear those people that try to control others (not convince, control), because they will never be happy with themselves.
Submission is one of those issues that is a real hot-button for me. And by submission, I don't mean letting someone else make a decision when you don't care about the answer. I'm talking about a total giving up of control.
Do we need to give up control? Yes and no. I think we need to stop pretending we have control over things we don't, certainly. I don't control my cats .. and believing I do, or even that I can, is only going to leave me irritated when they go off and do their own cat-thing. (and even if I could control the behavior, their minds are their own). I think submitting one's life to that acceptance of reality is both healthy and necessary.
People mess themselves up all the time trying to control things they can't. And they mess up their lives trying to relinquish control over things they have to take responsibility for. It's a hard balancing act. But it's also really quite pragmatic. Trying to control things that you can't is never going to work, after all, and can only make you miserable trying.
What do we need to submit to? Everything we can't control. That doesn't mean LIKING it, certainly. I can submit to the fact that my baby's teething without liking that fact! But at the same time, I'm not going to punish him for screaming, either. It's not his fault. But until I accept that he's teething, it's not my fault, and it's something we need to get through, I'm going to be trying to handle situations that don't exist. And nothing will get solved.
Moral culpability means it's my choices that caused something. I did it, so I need to fix it. Which means that things that are under my control, I am morally culpable for. Anything outside of my control, not responsible.
Why must we accept a lack of control in our lives? Because as long as we believe we can control everything, we're going to drive ourselves crazy. Much of the daily wrongs that happen in our lives are attempts by people to control things that they can't. And yet we have to accept that we do have control over some things. We control ourselves and our decisions, and we need to take responsibility for that. When we refuse to admit our own responsibility for our own decisions, we also run the risk of committing great evils.
I fear people that refuse to admit they have control over themselves, because they will act as they please and deny the inevitable consequences. And I fear those people that try to control others (not convince, control), because they will never be happy with themselves.
posted by Vieva | 8:39 AM
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