Your Life as Narrative

Surprise, surprise, surprise--put a link on Facebook and voila, my blog has readers!

Thanks for the nice comments and words of encouragement for yesterday's post.

I've been thinking today about an article I read from the latest Sojourners magazine. (Thank you Jim Wolgemuth for buying me a subscription that never seems to run out!) In the issue, a writer named Dan Miller considered how one's life might appeal to others if it were reduced to a movie script. With my personal love for movies, of course I was intrigued by the exercise.

Miller's point was that our culture tells us that material goods measure a person's success. And, after being bombarded for years with these messages, many of us have come to believe that the big house, the fancy car, the prestigious job--are accomplishments that really mean something important. He wondered, however, whether striving for possessions would make a very interesting movie. How many persons, he mused, would be moved to tears by the story of a person who strived for years to buy a Volvo and then one day saved up enough cash to purchase the car. Hmm, I'm not even waiting for that movie to come out on DVD!

He contrasted the materialistic narrative with what he believed was a far more moving story--a life characterized by sacrifice and service. Stories of personal efforts to help others, he believes, are narratives worth pursuing.

Miller is absolutely right in his analysis that a life of service is far more meaningful (and interesting) than a life obsessed with accumulating possessions. And, I didn't mind that he shared his observations in hopes of encouraging readers to join his youth mentoring program (I hope many sign up). But he's wrong about compelling narrative. * Spoiler alert--more movie references ahead!

Two recent movies--Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness and last year's Oscar favorite, Slumdog Millionaire were riveting stories about persons living in crushing poverty who dreamed of material riches. The stories were neither trite nor trivial, but showcased the human spirit. For the heroes in these stories, the narrative did not focus on their lives once they obtained riches, but rather, the incredible obstacles they overcame before they finally grasped the "brass ring." I was moved by these stories.

So back to our own personal narratives. As we consider our lives, is it really a choice between service or riches? For some, maybe. Certainly persons spending long hours chasing wages often lack time and energy for substantive service. And, we all know that the love of money is truly "the root of all evil." At the same time, I can think of countless examples of persons whose personal wealth, power and prestige provided them significant service opportunities. I also know that with wealth comes influence. A biblical proverb observes, "The wisdom of a poor man is often ignored." Not many homeless people get published, have their own TV shows, or even post their own blogs.

So today, as you consider the narrative of your life, if the focus of your story sounds more like a TV commercial than a decent movie, then look to pursue more meaningful goals this year. At the same time, don't beat yourself up if your life story lacks the color, conflict and drama necessary for a moving narrative. For, as Bilbo Baggins observed, "It is no small accomplishment to live a simple life." Those persons who quietly and consistently do good things for their families and their communities in ways that are not showy or spectacular--and who have found how to truly live in peace with themselves and their neightbors, should not feel ashamed that their lives may seem boring to others.

In the end, the narrative of our lives is not fodder for public consumption. Our life stories are personal diaries that only those most intimate with us will fully know and appreciate. We should not care whether or not our life stories would make a good movie script. In fact, who really wants to make life choices based on whether or not what you do will interest others? In the end, consider what God wills, what your spouse thinks, how your choices might impact your children, and then follow the advice of Polonius in Hamlet, "To your own self be true." Follow those guidelines and you may not end up with a best selling book or blockbuster movie, but you may find love, peace and satisfaction.