The Treadmill of the Contemporary…

“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”          – E.E. Cummings

If you are looking for an interesting read, Thomas Sowell’s Intellectuals and Society is a fascinating insight into our ideologically charged times. He touches on the role of the intelligentsia in a historical context. Monarchs and dictators of the past, who often were not as educated in the multitude of needs for a head of state, frequently relied on a series of advisors, statesmen, generals, or clergy who used their educated minds to inform and direct the actions of the leader (at times) to the best interest of the sovereignty. In our contemporary society, one of the hallmarks of being a leader is the incredible intelligence it takes to operate in the highest echelons of power. It has made exercising one’s knowledge paramount to relevance in the 21st century.

Today, with widespread education and freedom of speech, opinions are trafficked and traded, from podcasts to social media, a great number of things in our world are the subject of fervent viewpoints. One of the unique aspects of change that has come about since the early 2000s is the grip of ideology across the spectrum of our lives. This has not just been done in a political capacity but throughout sports, education, religion, food, music, the workplace, and societal values. It is particularly pertinent to the upcoming generations (Z and Alpha) because of the transition from modernity to postmodernism and the current shift to metamodernism.

With the ever-changing events in the world, social morality has been put at the forefront of focus: restoring value to the human condition, enlisting new passions to motivate others, and pursuing the advancement of mutual good. This new enlightenment of perspective takes the tenets of self-realization and projects them into the experiential truth of society. In the vein of Cummings’ sentiment, postmodern society has instilled in us a revelation: Believe in yourself; it is through this power that you will inspire the world, contribute to its betterment, and transcend the insignificance of details for the experience of connectivity through commonality, with your other passengers on the Good Ship Earth.

From politics and religion to coffee and craft beer; from green living and consumerism to social media narcissism and celebrity fixation; and from identity and exclusivity to brand association and indie appeal — our society calls us to balance a system of beliefs shared by all with freedom from beliefs which are inconvenient to your desires. This revelation of self, calls us to heighten the importance of our opinions about ourselves, broadcast our opinions about others and dismiss and denigrate any truth which escapes our experience, lives beyond our understanding and validates the principles contrary to what we want.

As a result, the only ability we have to assert our influence is internal. The only place we can rest our hope is in the busyness of our hands, the fulfillment of our pleasures, and the connectivity to others who are equally internally influential. This philosophy has spawned books like The Secret, A Course on Miracles, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, How to Win Friends & Influence People, and Dianetics. It brings to life an emerging church of influence that substitutes truth for charisma, obedience for understanding, and wisdom for relevance.

How much more have these trends proliferated through the combination of social media and digital experience? We are marketed ideologies of self-realization across platforms and promotions. We have taken the pursuit of the Joneses and handed it down to our children on social media, living out an illusion of beauty, success, and popularity. And yet, as the Faithful, we are told in the Bible that the influence of these things will take root in the last days.

“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” 

We see this all around us in our world today. A culture of self has inundated every avenue of society, value, and ideology. We see it in consumer-focused churches, self-empowerment mantras, and holistic exercises of contemplative spirituality. People are lost in a balance of busyness and bespoke truth, living out a disconnected ideology that they must deconstruct for purpose or remain on the hamster wheel until they have the time (or emotional breakdown) that allows them to reenvision their true selves.

And yet, in the end, this Postmodern social morality does not provide significance or transcendence; it brings a busyness to our achievements and a zeal to our au fait advancement of self. The treadmill of the contemporary focuses our hearts on perspectives gleaned from our desire rather than what we truly need. As we run through our days, we are blinded by all that we are and all that we are doing, losing the heart of true connection for an assemblage of association. We take up every new fad that calls itself the truth and every unpacked insight that revolutionizes our perception — all the while, we become a little more lost along the way. We become a people constantly looking for rest but chasing it through intense activity rather than peace.

For many of us on this earth, we try to construct the truth as we see fit. We go forward in an existence that builds a foundation upon itself. If that foundation is busy, we become busier; if it is based on insight, we strive to become more insightful. We seek purpose, fulfillment, and distinction, often to our own demise — sometimes at the cost of our families, our marriages, our children, our peace, and our right standing with God. We stay on the treadmill because we don’t know any other way to go. We are worried about the house of cards falling, the balls dropping, or the image we have constructed being found out for the anxiety-filled fake hiding behind the smile, the charisma, or the brand labels.

The call of the Almighty is to be still and know that He is God. The NASB translation says, “Cease striving.” That is an apt word for those of us who live our lives on the treadmill of the contemporary. When our foundation is on our ability to produce results, it always leads to discouragement, disconnection, and dissatisfaction. As good as we can feel about what we have done, it will never transform us into something that transcends our abilities. The Lord tells us to cease striving and rest in what He is doing. In this world where contemporary and relevant pursuits earmark validity and purpose, He calls us to stop searching and know Him in the stillness of who He is.

It is difficult for many people to let go the entitlement of “how they think it should be.” They experience a life in opposition to the truth because they want to be the provider of it, the discoverer of it, and the best assessor of it. They get caught up in crafting the right thing to do, being the great force of right/good or being busy in promoting the progress that needs to be embraced. In their own strength, they stay on the treadmill and work toward their own provision, providing contemporary and relevant insight into why their new perspective is the only reasonable way to know the truth.

But the overarching truth is, no matter what kingdoms we build or whatever insights we cultivate, the end of a self-made road is a self-empowered salvation. Matthew 7 clearly shows that many will stand before the Almighty with their own amazing works, impacts, and achievements that they declare worthy of His recognition. But He will see them as strangers who sought their own rather than Him.

So this is the time to seek Him while He may be found. If we are to know His truth and make an impact for His Kingdom, we must lay aside all that encumbers us from our self-achievement and the busyness of our personal missions. The Almighty God has sent His Son for anyone who would get off the treadmill of self-provision and receive what He has graciously provided. Many get invited, but only a few will let go of their personal view of truth for the truth as it is.

Cummings put forth an ideology of self-salvation that many people try to live by. These sentiments have thrived in the 21st century, eliciting major movements of subjective reality and personal mission statements. Unfortunately, for his assertion, the Bible puts forth a very different idea for our salvation. The objectivity of truth is only in the person of Jesus Christ. It is not in our belief in ourselves, our institutions, our intellect, or our perspective that provides our security; only our belief in Jesus can provide that which transcends our human limitation. He is the King. It is not in our realization of our own value that leads to the truth, but the realization of his value, His Lordship, and His mission for us that we find salvation from a world losing itself to its own end.

In Christ, we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In His Spirit, we can have the living God indwell us as we seek to live our lives for a higher purpose than we can provide for ourselves. This search for significance is something we all struggle with at different times in our lives. If you find yourself there today, click here for a path forward. As He reveals His truth in our hearts and transforms our minds in Christ, He promises in His faithfulness that we will become more than conquerors in this world of artificial kingdoms. Cease striving and know that He is God; then seek Him while He may be found.