Let’s Talk: A Further Reflection
Nicky and I were watching TV the other night when the Telstra ad came on. Given that so few people watch TV anymore, let me describe it (watch it here). It starts with the assertion - We all have a Why! Then there are a series of snapshots of life in Australia from camping to childbirth, from the love and kindness found in family to the tragedy of bushfire and loss, from dancing and work to school and sport. The images rush across your screen and proclaim the message that Australians are all different but we all live with a Why, a purpose. And then it ends with Telstra telling you, Australia is our Why. No matter who you are or want to be, you are our purpose!
Well, let me share three reflections from the ad that are connected to our Let’s Talk: Identity series.
First, while images of Telstra’s various products and services are contained in the ad, the overriding purpose of the ad was to make you feel good about and feel thankful for Telstra. This exemplifies the modern zeitgeist we exposed during the series: the way we feel now governs thinking; our decision making is now based on feelings rather than any objective reality. There was not one objective comment about the reliability, coverage or speed of Telstra’s services but I came away feeling they loved me (sort of). This just shows how the importance of feelings has been elevated in every sphere of life - and we all know how dangerous that is based on our own experience of our feelings that shift like the wind.
Secondly, the philosophical underpinning of the ad just does not ring true to reality. The majority of Australians do not have a Why - we have multiple Whys and we live motivated by whichever one is either our current passion or the urgent burning fire. We would all love to live coherently but no one is always ecologically responsible, no one is always altruistic, no one is always self-obsessed. We all have purpose but it often shifts and changes in the moment according to what is needed. Moreover, often what we say our Why is, is only part of the picture because we are not able to truly see through to both our conscious and subconscious motivations. We are fraught and fickle and change like shifting shadows, often needing others to help us see what is truly going on in our lives. (This is, of course, all true for Telstra too: no matter what they say, their shareholders are actually their Why, not you.)
So thirdly, this all points to the security, beauty and glory of being found in Christ. I might even say the necessity of being found in Christ if you want to live a coherent life. Feelings fail us and purposes based on passions or urgency shift and change. This all leads to frustration, confusion, incoherence and anxiety. But being in Christ both anchors us in someone objective outside ourselves and provides us with power to permanently change and guide us from inside. Being in Christ is a fixed, permanent reality that has an intrinsic, objective value that supplants and overwhelms every other way we might think about ourselves, and every other identity we might think we ought to be governed by. Being in Christ means you are freed from attributing value to your feelings or the things you must do right now because there is something bigger and more secure and constant that gives you coherent meaning despite all your competing priorities - and that thing is Jesus.
When you know Jesus, your actual value, purpose and meaning is found in whose you are. And despite how we feel or who we are, that does not and cannot change. Even when our fraught and fickle minds and behaviours fail us, Christ remains our all in all who both lights our path and helps us walk it in the power of the Spirit.
If you pursue identity or contentment or value or purpose from within yourself or what you are, it will frustrate you and make you anxious. But being known by Christ never fails or frustrates and by contrast leads to peace. We will often fail God but our relationship with him in Christ remains unshakeable because it’s founded on the cross and so through all the ups and downs of life you can be absolutely sure of God’s love.
Have no doubt that people will think you a fool for following Jesus, but there is no greater fool than they who believe the modern zeitgeist and think that by it you may find life and life to the full.
