I'm such a product of my environment. I think we all are. I've been catching up on Breaking Bad recently and suddenly chemistry seems really interesting. I know this is not true. I know that chemistry is not interesting. It is, in fact, the spawn of evil science professors looking for a way to send students back home to live in their parents' basements. But, as Jesse Pinkman might say, Mr. White gots me trippin' yo.
The same thing happens to me when I get into a good novel or start studying any compelling story. I'm prim and proper when I watch Downton Abbey, restless and cold when I read Hemingway.
In a way, my soul is like a computer. I was in high school when computers were like Michael Bay movies: big, dumb and clunky. I had classes in "computer" where we learned a programming language called Basic. The fundamental principle I remember from those classes is this: garbage in - garbage out. That was a mantra to remind us that computers just do what you tell them to do. The code has to be clear and clean. If you write code poorly, you get poor results. I know humans are infinitely more complex than the Apple IIe I learned Basic on, but in some ways, we're not so different.
That reminds me of another computer term: icon. The Septuagint calls humans "eikons of God". We are meant to reflect his glory. But we are free agent eikons; we reflect whatever shines on us. If we expose ourselves to the light of scripture, we reflect grace and truth in our relationships, our work, and our daydreams. If we expose ourselves to the travails of a cancer-ridden-chemistry-teacher-turned-drug-lord, we reflect something different.
There's a balance here, of course. We aren't called to abstain from culture. We aren't all called to be monks. But I have to remind myself that I am always reflecting something — always showing forth what shines on my soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment