Do You Have Cause Fatigue?
August 12, 2008 · Print This Article
Marcus here. Over at New Breed of Advertisers, Sam Van Eman has confessed “I think I can’t, I think I can’t.”
Ouch, Sam. That’s bleak, man. That’s Cormac McCarthy bleak. I know what Sam means, though, and I appreciate his bold, if slightly shocking honesty.
Sam explores the idea in much greater depth in his MUST READ article at Catapult Magazine called Melinda Mae Missiology. The title of his article refers to a Shel Silverstein poem. (Click here and listen to Shel’s crazy reading.)
I’m no Melinda Mae. I lack focus. I lack patience. I lack perseverance. To be honest, I’m flat-out tired. In fact, I have had “cause fatigue” for sometime now. You know cause fatigue, right? Ten Facebook “friends” everyday tell me I should support their causes: “Spay Your Dog” and “Recycle Your Cans” and “Change the World This” and “Change the World That.”
Oh yeah. And this one. Join our Facebook Blog Network. (Actually, that’s not a cause. It’s a cool Facebook plugin that looks like it will aggregate all of our content on Facebook. Or else it will just be a fancy Facebook blog roll. I’m not sure.)
Even with the apologetic parentheses there, I feel bad about even asking people to join something else, click on one more link, stand up and digg or favorite or tag or participate in one more networking possibility or world improvement campaign.
There are just so many options that we start to shut down.
What else can we do except focus on the world in front of us? I don’t know where else to work on building the kingdom of God–whatever that means exactly. I’m still thinking about Sam’s article at Catapult when I make comments like that.
Here’s what I see in my life. I can be a good dad–and do things like watch a pickup softball game with my four-year-old son in the evenings. (We watched warm-up and ten minutes of the first inning last night.) I can be a good husband–and do things like encourage my wife after she has a tough rehearsal for Willy Wonka. (She’s Mrs. Gloop.) I can work hard at my job–connecting people online, editing articles, and doing my best to pay writers on time.
And I can write poetry. Which has no value in the free market sense, but it brings me joy. And for me, it is a kind of prayer.
Sure I do church and charity stuff too, but the real mission of my life is what I spend the bulk of my time on. Work and Family seamlessly (hopefully) integrated with my Faith in God.
None of those are very earth shattering causes. In fact, they seem almost cowardly in their simplicity. But they are what I do. Should I do more? I don’t know.
What do you do?
Great comments Marcus. I also have struggled with reconciling the “expectations” that the Christian sub-culture imposes on us compared to the reality of the daily grind. There is plenty of God’s grace and faithfulness to be played out in the ordinary course of work, life, family.
In my experience, cause fatigue come from letting other’s expectations run your life. That includes all causes from wonderful to stupid. So don’t ask us, “should I do more?” Only you can, and should, answer that. That said, I did see a challenging quote recently from Nathan S. Collier, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”
In winter, I bake my own bread. Summer… get it at the Farmer’s Market. I buy things that aren’t in cans. Decide not to cut down the trees in my back yard just for the cause of grass. Facilitate conversations that I think are important, over on Seedlings. Smile. Cry.
Oh, and I read poetry, which is for me a kind of prayer. : )
Bradley, your phrase “the expectations of the Christian sub-culture” reminds me of what Jesus had to say about that. “My yoke is easy…” It’s not about rules and burdens.
Shep, I don’t mind sacrificing the gift. I don’t. It’s my family that I worry about.
L.L., I love your list! Do people really cut down trees to plant grass? That’s crazy.
One of the many ways we in America are wealthy is the wealth of the choices and options we have when it comes to our time and energy — even the wealth of good causes we can support. It sometimes is so overwhelming, it’s paralyzing. When my head starts spinning, which is quite often, I find it helpful to stop and ask, “Jesus, what are you calling me to do, right now?” It often puts things into perspective, his perspective. At least it gets me over the paralysis and back at doing something in my calling. Good blog and discussion.