Visionary Complainers

ByS.D. Smith

Visionary Complainer ?

I know better. I have a vision. I can see beyond the usual to the possible. I can see a better way.

At least, I sometimes think so. Are you like me? Do you find it hard to turn off the critical/analytical part of your brain, that part unable to rest until it’s found the parts of whatever is in front of you that could be improved?

This can be a blessing, sure. It can serve to create a space for imagining a better way. It can also be a curse, creating a space for living a bitter life. I frequently find myself dangling between these two possibilities.

Having imagination enough to see a better way can be used to serve others. It can be a vocation of love and a gift to our families, communities, our churches, and the Church. However, giving voice (even internally) to every critical reflection can turn us into nit-picky accusers, never satisfied with the best offerings of others, never at rest until the world conforms to (what we imagine is) our lofty, enlightened vision.

I need to be reminded not to use what vision God has given me to become a grumbling complainer. Rolling our eyes is a religious act. Proud-hearted scoffing is not a mark of the greatest among us. We must become like children.

If we see our callings as gifts from God to serve others, we will be less likely to use them as props for our vanity.

When we use our vision to see, not be seen, we are better ready to be used by him who sees all. When we use our vision to serve, not be served, we are modeling the Master.

Ask yourself, are you a visionary complainer…or a model of the master?

Ours is a religion of the basin and towel, not the crystal ball.

Peace to you,

S.D. Smith,

Story Warren, SDSmith.net

S.D. Smith lives with his wife and four kids in West Virginia, because it would be weird to live with someone else’s wife and four kids in West Virginia, or anywhere else, right? Sam is passionate about fostering holy imagination in children, about anticipating the coming Kingdom in family, community, and church life. His collaborative website, Story Warren, is an artful ally to parents who are eager to foster holy imagination at home. Sam is a soccer dad, defying the critics who insist it’s “Communist Kickball.” While not being a Communist, he enjoys connecting with his kids over the Bible, literature, music, free-market soccer, and that noise where you put your hand under your armpit and flap it like a chicken. His beautiful wife, Gina, is the heroic heart of their home and is spectacularly tolerant of soccer and strange, guffaw-inducing noises.

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2 Comments

  1. Wow, was this a needed post! I connect all too well with the “eye-rolling” picture when things don’t go exactly as I think they should. Thank you for a much-needed reminder.

  2. True that, Sam. The iNtuitive temperament is a blessed curse. For the intuitive parent, critical thinking (a good thing) too easily becomes critical attitudes (not so good), and no matter how good the critique, our children will remember the criticism. Intuition can be God’s fuel for the engine of visionary possibilities, or our water on the fires of faithful service. We must become what we want our children to be.

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