Holy Discontent

Holy discontent. Interesting phrase.

It is the title of Bill Hybel’s (pastor of Willow Creek – megachurch in Chicago area) most recent book and is subtitled 'Fueling the Fire That Ignites Personal Vision' (Zondervan, 2007).

The point of his book is that when we determine what we see in this world that is NOT RIGHT, we have insight into our holy discontent - the belief that God fills us with a righteous anger/passion towards those things we see that are not right. And we ought to do something about it.

Holy discontent is far more than being a complainer who sits in the stands and complains about what we see. That is NOT a holy discontent. That tends to come from self-righteousness or pride and does nothing to bring positive change to whatever we struggle with. No, holy discontent leads to action.

I believe that the motivating reason why millions of people choose to do good in the world around them is because there is something wrong in that world. In fact, there is something so wrong that they just can’t stand it. (23)

When people are struggling and there’s nowhere to turn for help . . . when kids are left parentless, adults are left homeless, families are left without food and water . . . when disease-infected patients are tossed out with yesterday’s trash . . . is this what you can’t stand? (36)

What can’t you stand?

Part of the challenge for us in North America is how easily it is to become isolated, insulated, distracted, and ignorant. Our news is filled with a steroids, the upcoming election, what movie star is in trouble, and how the stock market is doing. If we are honest, the truth is most of us are much more interested in the weather report tomorrow than we are in the state of those suffering around the world. There is no such thing as holy apathy or holy ignorance or holy complacency.

Hybels advice is that when you get an inkling as to your holy discontent, feed it. Don’t shy away. Jump in. If you sense a burden for the poor, go spend time with the poor. Go visit. If human suffering stirs you, then call any organization seeking to alleviate suffering and offer to help. If you can’t imagine a child being raised without a parent, prayerfully consider adoption. Read, read, read. Learn about the plight of those who you are drawn to.

“But the task is too large?” “There is too much to do.” “How can one person make any difference?” All of those excuses ignore God’s sovereignty in your life and the belief that your life can and will make a difference in the lives of others.

One of the quotes that continues to challenge me comes from Ghandi. He was asked about Christians and how they were doing in caring for the needs of the poor. Ghandi’s response:

Ask the poor. They’ll tell you who the Christians are.

About the time I was fleshing out my thoughts around the holy discontent concept, I came across a book written by University of Michigan business school professor Robert Quinn. It contained a theory that really resonated with me – something he called the “fundamental state” theory. Essentially, it says that when a person is gripped by a powerful passion (or driven by a holy discontent, you might say), he or she literally enters into a completely different state of mind; in fact, they shift mental gears altogether and begin operating on an entirely new level.

According to Quinn, people can actually migrate at will from what he calls the “normal state” to a place known as the “fundamental state.” This is helpful to know, especially since you may be stuck in the “normal state” without even knowing it. Here’s how to tell: in the normal state, you’re almost entirely
self-absorbed. You have a reactive approach to life. And you try to maintain the status quo, regardless how unbearable the status quo is. Professor Quinn puts it this way in his book, Building the Bridge as You Walk On It: “When we accept the world as it is (by living in the normal state), we deny our ability to see something better, and hence our ability to be something better. We become what we behold.

Accepting the world as it is.
Denying our ability to see something better.
Denying our ability to be something better.

This is life in the normal state.
What’s not normal, Professor Quinn says, is embracing the fact that another state exists.

“To remain in the normal state is ultimately to choose slow death,” asserts Quinn. The normal state is so self-seeking that you can spin your wheels for a lifetime and never once impact the world around you. In the fundamental state, however, people care so much about getting results that they begin to move and breathe in a totally different realm. They operate with intentionality. They act with massive doses of enthusiasm and persistence. They surrender their ego because the cause simply can’t afford their pride. They open themselves up to any and all new ideas and forms of input – regardless of where those suggestions come from.

People who operate in a “fundamental” state of mind concentrate at higher levels and focus more intensely because the goal they’re pursing demands it. They take risks they wouldn’t normally take . . . because they have to – there’s too much at stake not to! Their creativity kicks up a notch. Their energy soars. Their passion swells.
(117-119)

We cannot accept the world as it is. We have to see something better for those who struggle. And we have to believe that God longs to not only help us make a difference in the lives of others, but help us become something better – become more like Him.