“You can’t be two people in your brain, one rock dude and a dad — there’s something in the middle of them, and that’s really what you are and that’s going to make you the best dad — not when you try to be one or the other.” ~ Gerard Way
For a musician and comic book writer, Gerard Way surely knows how to capture something that we all need to take into account: we should not be living in the “extremes”. Yet, many people do just that.
Some people do anything that they can do to be the most powerful. Others want to be the richest. Others want to have the most influence over those they encounter. Most. Most. Most. Those are the words that drive many in our world today.
But, there is that “middle ground” that so often gets ignored. For Christians, that middle ground is our faith. When we focus on the extreme edges of our lives, our faith will suffer. That is practically a guarantee. For example, if we want to be the richest person around, the temptation is to hold on to all that accumulated wealth. Instead of using it for the sake of others, it is hoarded so that it can only be used by the one who made the fortune. No one else would benefit.
That is not why God blesses us so richly. God provides us with a rich bounty precisely so that we will be able to give it all away. The more we give, the more God gives to us, because He has found someone willing to give to others.
We are the hands, the feet, and the voice of God in our world. The hands of God are open and generous. The feet of God go to all people. They do not restrict themselves and stay away from anyone. The voice of God is spoken to all and for all.
If we take our vocations seriously, we realize that we need to go out to all, to associate with everybody, to welcome all people, to benefit everyone we can, all because that is what God does and what He wants us to do. God does not want us to be examples of selfishness, of greed, or of exclusivity. God wants us to be as open as He is.
We might want to be a great many things. Some of them may depend upon the extreme edges that only the world can provide. In the middle of all those dreams and desires is a soul firmly planted deep within. It does not cry out for extremes. It cries out for the Lord. Take care of that soul today.
FAITH ACTION: Examine what you consider to be important in your life. If there is no room for God, reevaluate your priorities.