Re: "Go Get a Life!!!" Ok. But What Does "Having a Life" Really Mean?
Attempt #2 (
technically 3)
Rest in peace my original response... I'll always love you. I'm sorry no one came to help when you were being murdered.
______________________________________________________________
Hey Everyone,
I've actually had the idea for this thread for about 2 years (does that make it a zombie thread??!!
)
Back when Singles chat was extremely active most nights, we were having problems with a "Jack-like" troll who would enter the room under numerous new names, confront a few specific users with a battery of insults that resembled a drive-by shooting, then dodge out, only to return again and repeat the entire cycle repeatedly, always trying to start a fight. Fortunately, we had a mod in the room with us who was working hard to solve the problem.
One particular night, our Friendly Neighborhood Troll came into the room and tried to directly insult the moderator by saying, "All you ever do is waste all your time sitting here on CC!! YOU REALLY NEED TO GET A LIFE!!" To their credit, the moderator was extremely calm and didn't even bother answering. (I was amused by the fact that our Friendly Neighborhood Troll was spending all of HIS time on CC as well, except that he was using it to attack people instead instead of helping them, as our moderator was doing.)
Watching this take place got me thinking as to what "having a life" really means, anyway, especially since this phrase is almost always used an an insult or a self-deprecating put-down ("I have no life!")
Here are some questions to consider (feel free to just pick a few or answer them all if you like):
* What does "getting a life" mean to you? (Do you know someone who "has the life" you wish you had?)
Well, usually 'having a life' means you are doing something interesting or meaningful with your time, effort, energy, resources, etc etc... An artist that creates beautiful things, a photographer traveling all over taking great pictures, a fireman or police officer that face danger to save peoples lives, and the list could go on forever... Just people who are doing something productive, interesting, and beneficial to society in some way.
Know someone who 'has the life' I wish I had, huh? Mmm... about every Christian Hero in History... yeah... but maybe someone like Keith Green. He got to travel the world, minister, make music, have a loving family... pretty sweet gig, I think.
* What is the difference between having a simple life vs. having no life at all?
I think of a 'simple' life as the typical life a person over 100 years ago. You farm, ranch, hunt, etc enough to feed yourself and/or your family. You've got a basic house and necessities. Nothing fancy or excessive. I suppose something like how the Amish live for a modern day example. That's a simple life.
"No life." tends to be a term for someone so engrossed in a single thing that they rarely do anything else. For instance, a person working in an office cubicle for 12+ hours a day, has no friends or family, gets food and goes home to watch movies or play games...and then does it all again everyday... Yeah, I don't think that's what Christ meant when he said 'Life Abundantly' or what people think of when we say 'living to the fullest'. To me, that sort of sounds like being a zombie or in prison. You just do the same thing every day with no real meaning or purpose beyond yourself. That's not life to me, and I'd find another option very quickly.
* Have you ever told someone to "get a life"? Why did you feel this way about them?
No. I would perceive that as rude, and thus refrain from saying such things. I may gently coerce people into making better life choices, however...
* Do you feel you are the one who "has no life"? If so, what steps are you taking to "get a life" of your own?
I've been both, and it just depends on the time in my life.
There was a time when I was ridiculously busy. I averaged like 7 hours of sleep a week. I had two jobs, two ministries, a girlfriend, full time college, a band, another band, a choir, music, acting, family, friends, and just more than I could possible keep up with... but at the same time, I was happy. I was doing a lot of things I loved, learning new things, having new experiences, going places and meeting people, having fun, building deep friendships...and the list goes on. It was a really wonderful time in my life, and I'd say those years are some of most living I've done in life.
Then, there are other times... I can never say I've had no life at all, but I've had lousy moments. Times when I do the same thing everyday...just work and sleep mostly...play some games and spend most of my time alone (which I enjoy being an introvert, btw, but hermitage is really no way to live in the long run...). There were some fun moments, but overall I was pretty depressed, lonely, desperate, and stuck in a rut of sin and selfishness.
As for 'steps to getting a life'... Mm... I'm in a holding pattern in life right now, so this is one long step to get to the next several steps. ^^0 Hopefully it won't be TOO long, though...I'm ready to move on. I try to make the most of each step of the journey, however, so I don't want to diminish my time here. There are some good things happening!
I realize we're probably going to several replies such as, "Those who live for Christ are the only ones who have true life!", but what exactly does a "real" Christian life look like, anyway?
A real Christian life? That's an easy one (I think)!
The One-Year of Christian History: E. Michael, Sharon Rusten: 9780842355070 - Christianbook.com
Pretty much every and anyone in this devotional book... We've been doing it as a family for a couple years now, and wow! They inspire me, and also make me realize how little I'm doing or living up to in comparison. The people who really live it... my father and uncle are men like that. It's been a wonderful blessing having such champions of the faith as mentors. ^_^
Anyway...that's considerably different from the first time, but hopefully it will suffice.
