Saving Our Lives

             Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)

Why does God allow bad things to happen? I don’t believe there is only one reason for any bad thing unless that answer is so broad that it is almost meaningless. But one reason that may fit at least some bad things is that God is trying to help us save our lives and our souls.

But here we must stop to consider what is meant by saving our souls, and I must repeat my chorus about it not being “magical.” Losing one’s soul is a thought by thought, decision by decision thing. Think of what happens to someone who is addicted to something, or who becomes rich, famous, or powerful. Think of someone who is ambitious, and how much they may lose of themselves in the pursuit of whatever their thing is. Think of those who have allowed their boundaries to be violated in the name of “love” who then are devastated when the lover walks away, or those who were sure that X would fulfill their life, only to discover that it has ruined it.

Several books have been written exploring the concept of “antifragility.” It is the idea that disruption and difficulty are necessary to strength and well-being. You strengthen muscles by working them against an opposing force. This isn’t to suggest the platitude of “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” It doesn’t justify abuse or other forms of evil, but it’s a mistake to believe that difficulty can’t be beneficial  to us, especially in God’s hands. Indeed, “saving our lives” may be precisely the thing that destroys us.