Acedia, Enthusiasm, Cynicism...Super Bowl Sunday
This morning's Bible class will use Chapter 17 of Os Guinness' book The Call to address a topic we've visited before: acedia. Linked in the modern world to depression, the popular word for acedia is sloth, and I blogged about it back in September of 2006, so I won't revisit that territory here. Enough to say that sloth is far more than lazing on the couch watching the Colts and the Bears: it is a complex spiritual condition that kills. Os Guinness asserts that having a deep sense of God's calling is the best antidote to acedia, and I tend to agree, but that's not what I want to talk about. In getting ready for class, I kept encountering intersections with both enthusiasm and cynicism. As an INFP (Myers-Briggs), I am a classic idealist, and you know what they say---an idealist is a cynic in training.
Confession time: I fit the bill.
Anjie and I were talking last night, and I confessed that one of my chief challenges is that I need to recover my "passion" for the things I'm doing. I've always (I say "always"--probably not so much anymore) been known as a passionate sort of guy. As a teacher, many of my student-reviews have included the word "passionate," and there is usually a sense of gratitude that goes with the description. As an actor, I've been described the same way. Unfortunately, life has a way of beating up the idealist, the world being a generally difficult place to live, and the temptation to cave in to cynicism, despair, and acedia can be overwhelming.
But as I said, in this morning's study, two things emerged. First of all, in looking at sloth as the fourth of the seven deadly sins, I came across the seven holy virtues that are guards against the sins, and guess what lines up with sloth? Zeal and diligence, both which have associations with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm--now there's an old friend of a word. I remember all the days of Amway rallies, the tapes and books all trumpeting the idea that enthusiasm comes for the Greek meaning, essentially, "God in you." Well, the cynic in me advises me to turn up my nose at such foolishness, reminding me I didn't very well with all that hype business, but the etymology of the word is just what all those motivators said it was. The Greeks had this notion of being inspired or infused by the gods, and that the state of enthusiasm was a state of possession. I confess, possession by God in service of his chosen task for my life, a possession come by not through coercion and fear but by willing yielding...this sounds very much like Jesus' life, the life Paul describes as being the inheritance of the children of God. Paul said, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." (Romans 12:11)
But today of all days is a day of unbridled enthusiasm in American culture, and perhaps this is why so many of us creep to the door of enthusiasm with such misgivings. "Hype" is the bastard child of enthusiasm, trading on the word's good name, but in the end, selling us little of substance. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the Super Bowl, and I'll watch from the kickoff to the final whistle, and I'll even enjoy the commercials. But truth is, it's a football game played in the midst of a big commercial party, and certainly most would agree that the enthusiasm for this event is less than pure, and the amateur's love of sport is not what's being celebrated. Coach Taylor (on Friday Night Lights) tells his wife, "I love football. And I love these kids." His enthusiasm for the game shows, but what it really shows is his enthusiasm for what football does in his own life, how it anchors him, how it gives him a focus and reason for being and giving his best, and how it gives him a means by which to connect with and help his students. For Coach Taylor, football's meaning is certainly something other that the money, the celebrity, and the shared experiential high that sweeps the westernized world each February.
Call me a cynic.
Fun is not a bad thing--we'll have Super Bowl fun in my house today. But what I really pray is that at the end of the game, I will turn back to my tasks with God's Spirit possessing me, yielding to the call I was given a long time ago. True, organic, child-like enthusiasm points to that which we love ("You should see my children!") and may our love for God and his beauty and presence lift us up off the couches of our cynicism to offer a deeply grounded hope.
Was there ever a cynical gardener, a bitter farmer who planted even though he was sure in his heart nothing would grow?
...when the call comes, so does adrenaline...
8:31:33 AM 
