Reality Mists, Cave Chains, and Other Sad Pitfalls

When I arrived at work this morning, I was greeted with this thick fog sprawled across the back property. We all know what a sucker I am for a solitary tree, so combine that with the sunrise, and here I am scampering across the lawn with my phone, snapping pictures like some crazy morning optimist.

It was the fog, though, that sparked my attention. The way it just hovered dormant and still. It reminded me of this series I'm reading involving the Olympian gods living among mortals. While the books are generally light-hearted and geared towards children, they use Mist as a solemn symbol of how humans use reality to excuse situations that seem abnormal. I'm basically left feeling cramped up in a reality straitjacket.

All this thinking reminded me of something I learned long ago...and philosophers, forgive my butchering of this theory, because I don't remember the story so much as I remember the illustration of it. Apparently I need visual aids to retain any form of information...

Plato concocted the "Myth of the Cave," wherein he imagined people chained in a cave their whole lives, facing an empty wall; the only images they see are shadows on this wall. He describes how their only forms of reality are the shapes and movements they see projected onto the wall. He states that if they were to escape this prison and personally witness the objects responsible for casting the shadows, they wouldn't be able to associate the two. He went further to say that they would probably return to their imprisonment because that is what they have known their whole lives.

Again, the picture is what has lasted with me, but I believe I also specifially remember this because of the severely despairing impression it left on me. We actually do this. "Ignorance is bliss" isn't some hilarious pardon for our indolence or incompetence.

I am by no means a philosopher; therefore, I am not going to go into depth with this theory. But I would like to point out from a Christian standpoint how often we do this. And I'm warning you now - I'm not taking this in the direction you think I am.

I get serious red flags when I see a pastor who has lived this squeaky clean life inside this sad little bubble, trying to witness to or counsel a drug addict. I know some people are gasping right now; let me try to make this short and sweet. Say you are studying to be in the medical field. Everyone knows that you don't spend years and years inside a classroom behind a text book; a huge portion of your time is spent in the hospitals getting hands-on experience. It's ridiculous to assume that one can properly learn this practice being solely educated through lecture. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Do I think we should carry on in debauchery, because grace abounds? God forbit it. But I do know that the Great Commission is to Go into all the world. How can I go into the world if I am chained to a wall, watching only the shadows of what the world is? Once I am released from my chains, I won't comprehend the world anyways. I'll crawl back to my cage. Although their lifestyle is not my own, how can I understand their addictions, vices, and downfalls if I am ignorant of them?

Christians seem to forget that God is in the world. The drugs, the prostitution, the cold-blooded murders, God is in the midst of it all. He's not absent, so why should we be? We cling to this "don't-ask-don't-tell" mindset and stay tucked inside our bubbles and focus on moot points and the length of our skirts.

Just be educated. That's all. It never hurts to know things. And if you're wondering how to "educate" yourself without participating in it, just open your eyes. It's all over. And when you find it, don't run from it. Dissect it, prod it, and empathize with it. Pour God first into the deepest holes and let Him fill the voids. And if you claim to have opened eyes and you still don't get it, then you're just ignorant and there's no hope for you.