The Christian Imagination

I first heard the story of Chris McCandless and the story told in Into the Wild in Pittsburgh when I first heard the folk duo, Harrod and Funck, and their song, Walk into the Wild. By far the best song on the subject, in my opinion.

Recently, I decided to see the movie, and having seen the movie, thought I should read the book. The book provided some good detail, but I actually thought the movie told the story better, helping us to better understand Chris. I’m going to be commenting on the story from here on out, so be aware there are spoilers ahead. This is my interpretation…

In 1990, after Chris finished college, he dropped out of sight and out of contact with everyone he knew, including his family. He gave his life savings to OXFAM, abandoned his car, burned the rest of his money, and hitchhiked around the country, working as necessary, even changed his name. Ultimately, he ventured to Alaska to live in the wild, and while he did do his research, his lack of actual wilderness experience coupled with a few key mistakes were his undoing. He was disenchanted with facades he unearthed about his parents and with much of the materialistic society, and this coming from an affluent family near DC. He was someone who distrusted what came easily, and found meaning in going beyond what was comfortable.

“Long captivated by the writings of Leo Tolstoy, McCandless particularly admired how the great novelist had forsaken a life of wealth and privilege to wander among the destitute. In college McCandless began emulating Tolstoy’s asceticism and moral rigor to a degree that first astonished, and then alarmed, those who were close to him.” (Krakauer, Author’s Note)

Some admire him, some think him an idiot. I think that cutting himself off entirely from his family and everybody he knew was selfish, running, taking the easy way out. Yet, I relate to him too. I’m idealistic myself, and there is a lot of modern society that can be disenchanting. And let me tell you, it’s a lonely road being an idealistic. Chris was very intelligent, and could likely see through a lot of people’s facades. It’s the kind of thing that can make you more easily cynical.

Chris had a keen sense of adventure, loved a good challenge, and took his fair share of risks. We sometimes let society hold us back when, really, it’s our choice to go with the flow. Chris went so far as to spurn society, though he seemed to enjoy the people he met in his journey. He loved nature, and the idea of surviving in the Alaskan wild had a romance to it. It was also a way to escape the pressures of society for awhlie, perhaps a retreat of sorts.

At one point on his journey, he wrote a man he had connected with a letter that included the following:
“You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience. We just have to have the courage to turn our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living.” (Krakauer, 57)

As a Christian, I can say that Joy emanates from God. As for what can make us happy, the two commandments, intertwined, are love God and neighbor. In that sense, Joy is more the result of giving of our lives to God and others, rather than what we get from life. The Bible is very much about community. Faith is lived out in community, we shape each other, are encouraged by each other. I really like God’s world, it itself speaks, but I am reminded of a statement by Freeman Miller, an Amish man who moved to Philadelphia, who said that when he really started thinking about it, he realized God’s most beautiful creation is people.

Before Chris died, he was reading a passage of one of his books, and wrote, “Happiness only real when shared.”

He seems, to me, to have been a seeker. Perhaps he would have found his way, had he made it out of the wild.

Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books. 1996.

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
–Luke 10:25-36

The lawyer was trying to trap Jesus, and Jesus, by answering with a penetrating question, trapped the lawyer. Lawyers are experts in verbal sparring. They don’t like losing.

The Jewish elite were very focused on avoiding impurity and sin. Israel’s religious idolatry and syncretism was a signficant part of why they lost God’s favor. In the process, they ended up creating a class system that devalued the impure and the sinful as second-class citizens. Samaritans were half-breeds with a syncretic religion, to be avoided at all costs. In their zealousness to follow God, they missed God’s heart: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” –Micah 6:8

The man on the side of the road, we don’t know who he was. It’s possible he was unclean, we don’t know. Mercy is a tough task, it requires risk, it requires time, it requires effort. Helping a person on the side of the road requires involvement. It’s also difficult to know whether it might be a trap, an ambush. Would it be worth it? The person was half dead, after all. Is it the type of person who’s worth helping? We don’t know. What we do know is that the Priest and Levite, not only saw him, but avoided him, passed by on the other side. Isn’t that what we often do when we’re around people or circumstances that make us uncomfortable?

Not only did the Samaritan, the unclean person, the person who Jews avoided, have mercy, but he took the time to help the person. He poured oil and wine, items of worth, on this man’s wounds. Then what? He brought him to an inn and payed them to take care of him while the Samaritan finished his journey. We don’t know where the Samaritan was going, but it certainly appears he had an agenda and some place he had to be. He seems like he was traveling on business. So, he interrupted his plans to help a man, but didn’t forsake his obligations to others, only delayed them as much as he could. It’s so easy to say we don’t have time. On the other hand, our existing commitments are important too.

Jesus said, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”

Notice the phrasing of the question. The lawyer asked Jesus who his neighbor was? Jesus turned it around and asked if he was BEING a neighbor. No matter how you look at it, it is both challenging and offensive. The Samaritan, the person who I may feel is less than me, is more of a neighbor to others than I am. The Samaritan is my neighbor. The person beaten and bloody on the side of the road asking for help is my neighbor. People I have never met are my neighbors.

Am I being a neighbor, or just walking right on by?

Harvard Business School has an article about Creativity in Business called Getting Down to the Business of Creativity. Read the entire article if you’d like to know more about their research.

Creativity, a quality more traditionally associated with artistic endeavors, has been slow to find its acknowledged place in the business world.

“Creativity does have a reputation for being magical,” says HBS professor Teresa Amabile. “One myth is that it’s associated with the particular personality or genius of a person—and in fact, creativity does depend to some extent on the intelligence, expertise, talent, and experience of an individual. Of course it does. But it also depends on creative thinking as a skill that involves qualities such as the propensity to take risks and to turn a problem on its head to get a new perspective. That can be learned.”

Another driver of creativity, motivation, is the locus of Amabile’s research. “The desire to do something because you find it deeply satisfying and personally challenging inspires the highest levels of creativity, whether it’s in the arts, sciences, or business,” she says.

So what can managers and entrepreneurs do to promote a healthy, positive inner work life among employees? A pat on the back or a company Ping-Pong table is always welcome, but what Amabile and Kramer discovered was much simpler: People have their best days and do their best work when they are allowed to make progress.

Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law. (NIV)
Where there is no prophecy the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. (NRSV)
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (KJV)
- Proverbs 29:18

The last version is the best known, though we generally leave off the last part. Since the Psalms heavily rely on Hebrew parallelism, we do them a disservice if we don’t quote the whole proverb, which isn’t hard really, since a verse generally contains the entire proverb.

The latter half of the proverb makes the point that following the law, staying within bounds, makes a person blessed or happy. The first part of the proverb addresses why people don’t keep the law.

Let’s look at the word vision. In Hebrew, it literally means vision, though there are different types, including divine communication. In different Bible versions, it is translated vision, revelation, and prophecy. Since these words are too often strictly associated with telling the future, I need to make clear that that is not what it’s talking about. The role of a prophet, according to Brueggemann, is to Criticize and Energize. The first part is to speak truth and break through people’s complacency. The second part is to inspire and rekindle the imagination.

Cast off restraint seems to be the most accurate translation of the rest. It means to loosen, and can even mean ignore. A person who is complacent, self-absorbed, and numb can easily do both.

I’ve been reflecting on the verse this past week, partially because I’ve rediscovered passion for some things that I had forgotten I was passionate about. I strive to be a good person. Admittedly, life sometimes seems like a series of todo lists and to-not-do lists. Knowing what is good for me doesn’t always inspire me to be good though. Sin can have an illusion of life to do, even if only briefly. Sin is the easier path. And when the stories I am sold from Christian vendors don’t stir my heart and help me see into the distance, my reasons to follow the law and restrain my life just aren’t compelling. When trying to do just what others tell me I should do, I feel like I lose a self of myself and who God created me to be in this world.

And when this visionary doesn’t have a real vision to take hold of, I descend into mediocrity…and stay there.

Apparently stepping out in faith towards a vision that resonates with my heart is a way to rise above mediocrity and get unstuck. So, another day on the journey…