Human Life Well-Lived... a paper for my management seminar

Human Life Well-Lived

The importance of living in a community.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,

and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin

1 John 1:7

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ

Galatians 6:2

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet

together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the

Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25

               As I began to think about the task of this paper, a thought first popped into my head about a recent conversation I had with a friend. We were discussing relationships and noted how seemingly “happier” one gets when one enters a relationship, especially at the beginning. I then, went off on a rant about how it frustrated me that our happiness should depend on another person. She then countered back, that maybe our thought process is wrong. We have grown up in such an individualistic society that, especially for women, we have been hardened to presume that we can make it on our own, become the best that we can be and to portray this strong, and independent persona. Personally, I have always had a can-do, will-do attitude, knowing that I can achieve whatever set my sights on. My friend challenged this, asking if it is correct to think that we can do anything on our own. From a Christian perspective especially, we have some things wrong. It is not about us, who we are or what we do, rather it is about God, who he is and what he does. Williams states “IF you live in a world where everything encourages you to struggle for your own individual interest and success, you are being encouraged to ignore the reality of other points of view—ultimately, to ignore the coast or the pain of others.” Beyond living for God, we are called to live for each other, laying down our own lives so that others should live. At the heart of this is servant leadership, as I will discuss later but also is the importance of building up a strong community and economy around one another. In Wendell Berry’s “Feminism, the Body and the Machine” and Rowan Williams “Human Well-Being and Economic Decision Making” they explore the issues while challenging the status quo that is current reality.

The question of the value-added benefits that technology and the industrial revolution present, is posed by Berry. He describes the degradation of true community as a result of technological advances and goes as far as to question its purpose in the first place.  Wendell writes, “This revolution has provided the means by which both the productive and the consumptive capacities of people could be detached from household and community and made to serve other people’s purely economic ends.” He sees an issue, a mammoth issue, in the direction things are headed. There is no ethical boundaries in regards to technology and no one ever stops to ask if this is good and as a result our communities are suffering greatly. To relate this back to a previous discussion on the separation of acts vs. actions, Berry is challenging the masses to think critically about the intentions behind our consumption of technology. Does it REALLY make us smarter, better, faster, or stronger? If it does, is that a good thing?

I was completely enthralled with Rowan Williams address. My excitement grew as I read, mostly because many of his points dealt with issues that are also circulating in my own mind. This quote summed up much of the article for me, “And a stable economy depends on our willingness to question the imperatives of unchecked growth – which in turn is a moral and cultural matter. The energy for resistance has to come from the sort of stubborn moral and cultural commitment to humane virtue that I have been speaking about." This is a symbiotic relationship in that without a stable economy all we can do is dream, but an economy without a moral conscience is a dangerous monster.  Ultimately, it begs the question of who are we here to serve.  If it is for individual promotion and self-interest, then our economy should be centered solely around profits and have no humane component. But, if we are here for the good of human kind, the economy as Williams states, should be “a social and material nexus of relations that would go on nourishing proper three-dimensional human beings.” These beings are not just restricted to the upper class, rather it extends to every class, to every person. He goes on to say that we need to redefine growth, and to define “what kind of human beings we hope to be.” The lion’s den, skewed Darwinistic, free market approach to economics does not take into account human mutuality. We are dependent creatures and live to be in community with one another. It is next to impossible to live a life of mutual exclusivity, and if you did, what kind of life would that be? Williams ends his address with an encouragement to revive passion, reflect character and resist dehumanization. It is frustrating to read this, because it sounds so simple, I keep asking myself why isn’t this the reality we live in? And off of that, how can we make it become reality?

If, as the archbishop eludes, this is the style of economy and the life that we, as Christians, are called to, then how can we apply this to our life? One thing that I picked up from reading this and also from a class I took last semester was the importance of defining our values. There is a saying that goes if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything. It is important that you not only think about it but you say it, or write it so that it can be remembered. A clearly defined standard needs to be set in order to know what we are reaching for. In addition, a firm vision is needed in order to motivate others along side of you, because as we have learned we do not operate in isolation. Williams states “We need to be able to say what kind of human beings we hope to be ourselves and to encourage our children to be.” Another interesting point that is extremely relevant as I begin my working career is this idea of work-life balance. As companies push their employees to neglect their personal life and to engrain their professional life with their very being, we are headed towards disaster, Williams mentions. This will be something I am very cognizant of, especially when I choose to start a family. Which brings me to a final take-away point which is the importance of developing a three dimensional humanity “centered on family, imagination, and mutual sympathy.” These are three values that I might not have picked myself but the intersection of the three make good sense. They are three things that are easily pushed to the way-side as our culture seeps into our decision making process. 

College is supposedly a time of deep self-reflection, personal growth and a time to define both who you are and what you believe in. Throughout the course of this semester and throughout my college career, I have been encouraged to look within myself to help determine these things.  This very individualized process places the majority of the focus on the singular person, often looking at them in isolation from others. For example, I have taken numerous personality and strength finding tests, sorted through values and searched for what makes me different, special or unique. Our generation, in fact, has proven to prolong this process much farther than those that have come before. Although it seems as if this process of defining me as an individual might be not community oriented, I would argue that it is. The journey I have been on has led me to be a more well-rounded person. In learning and reflecting about myself, I have been challenged to confront head on my weaknesses and flaws and to also develop my strengths.  As I prepare to enter into a larger community I will offer the acquired knowledge, skills and abilities for the service of others, for the betterment of the community. This is where some might go wrong, just as with technology and anything else, if this self knowledge is used to only promote oneself than it might have been done so in vain. In Galatians 6:2, Paul writes “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Christ calls us to live in community with one another, engage in a mutual humanity and to share each other’s burdens. If the economy or technology you are engaging in does not help achieve these things, than, as Williams writes, there needs to be a change. We need to be, as individuals acting in a community, pro-active and courageous.

“Your history suggests it can be done, so go do it.”