Curbing Enthusiasm

Caveat: I watched "Fight Club" this week--twice I think. Consequently, my psyche is a bit tortured so take what follows for what it's worth...

Yesterday I struggled to preach a sermon dealing with humanity, and especially masculinity. I likened it to trying to create an ice sculpture with a chain saw. I sort of had in mind what I wanted to get across but it was pretty chunky work--like trying to make delicate cuts without lopping off entire limbs.

We are animals at some level. Our physicality and drives are central to who we are as men and women. Indeed, it would appear that God made us this way. At the same time, this is not a license to run roughshod about the planet. As believers, or even as conscientious people, we want to be mindful and respectful of the larger world.

So what do we do with all that stuff--the thoughts, the passions, the hormones... Where's the line between appropriate expressions of manhood or womanhood and vain self-indulgence? I suspect the question is harder to answer than we realize. Some of us err on one side--overly prudish and suspicious of all forms of sexuality and worldly interest. Others of us err on the opposite side--driven entirely by one base desire or another.

It's safe to say that it's a matter of finding a balance that we can live with but the "we" here refers not only to the self but to the community around it. As we embrace our nature, we need to do so within the context of others--other people, other creature and the otherness of God. Of course, this was the part of the sermon that I was hoping would not break off as I was chiseling away at the carnal side of things. I suspect that the Church needs to hear that it is o.k. to be male or be female. And I want to be someone who is willing to say so. I just don't want to say it so loudly that people lose their minds... or their patience with me.

We are for sure earthly creatures. But there are better and worse ways to be in this world. As believers, we understand that enthusiasm is a good thing. It just needs to be appropriately applied.