I'm Betting On You
The Czechoslovakian novelist Franz Kafka once advised that “in man’s struggle against the word, bet on the world.” That counsel, ensconced in a collection of his writings called the Zurau Aphorisms, was born from and reflects Kafka’s deep and abiding frustration with the external forces that shape and often distort our lives. Although we have the power to choose, there are some forces over which we have no choice. All of us were born into pre-existing frameworks and networks. None of us chose when, where or to whom we would be born. These external forces exert such a considerable and constraining impact on our lives that Kafka’s counsel has the veneer of wisdom. These forces are so big, brazen and brutal that resistance is futile. Tis better to align oneself with them or to surrender oneself to them. But Christianity offers an alternative path.
In John 16:33, Jesus acknowledges the power of the world. That verse begins with Jesus confessing that “in this world, you will have tribulation.” Christianity acknowledges the considerable and constraining impact that the world has on our lives. In fact, the original meaning of the word that is translated “world” in that passage is full of insight. It means “arrangement” and is the same idea behind the world “cosmetic.” I’ve heard women say “I have to put on my face,” referring to their makeup. According to the scripture, the world is the set of artificial financial, political and ideological arrangements that any society “puts on the face” of the created world. These arrangements also have a spirit, which constitute the "floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims and aspirations at any time current in the world” which are impossible to ignore and which we breathe in like an atmosphere. It is the makeup that makes up the environment that we must deal with. And Jesus acknowledges that in facing the world, you will experience tribulation. One of my college professors used to say that if you are ignorant, the world will exploit you, and if you are weak, it will kick you. But then Jesus goes on to say “But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” So while Christianity acknowledges the power of the world, it does not believe alignment with or surrender to its forces is the ideal path. Not only is resistance to the world necessary, but victory it is possible.
That is why one of my favorite photographs is of this unnamed man standing in front of the first of four massive military tanks. Known as the “Tank Man,” this photograph was taken by Jeff Widener on July 5, 1989 from 5th floor of the Beijing Hotel the during the student-led pro-democracy demonstrations that occurred in Tiananmen Square China. We don’t who this man is, or what happened to him. But this picture is a monument to resistance, and an everlasting reminder of the fact that we can always overcome our world. There is always a path beyond alignment or surrender.
The world can be a mean, confusing, and overwhelming place. It can cause even the most faithful of us to close our eyes, hide our hands and bury our faces. But it can be resisted. And overcome. As Everrett Hale once said “
I am only one. But I am one. I can’t do everything. But I can do something. And what I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God, I will do.”
You don’t to stand in front of a tank. But you can do something. In fact, here are 15 recommendations on things you can do to change your world.
Register to vote
Visit someone in jail
Visit someone in a hospital
Visit someone in a homeless shelter.
Give a stranger $20
Take a senior citizen grocery shopping
Give someone a Bible
Volunteer at a food bank
Ask someone if you can pray for them
Help a student with their homework
Pay one semester of a college student’s tuition
Go a library and volunteer to read to children
join a civil rights/advocacy organization
Volunteer to help clean up a disaster zone
Pray
In man’s struggle against the world, Kafka bet on the world. But God is Betting on You. So am I.