Consumed

 



To do anything, a person must be convinced that there will be some kind of benefit, tangible or intangible. We all need motivation. I believe that anyone who considers taking up the craft of blogging must consider the benefits of doing so. Will enough people read it? Will they benefit from it? If no one reads my thoughts, is that alright with me? In what ways is blogging different from journaling? Is it really just "journaling with accountability"? 

You might wonder, if you've stumbled across this writing, why I stopped blogging, and why I am not, at least for the moment, attempting to begin again. Good questions...

I stopped blogging for the same reasons most people stop doing good things. I was tired, I was busy, I was unsure of its ongoing benefits.

I am a pastor, and blogging was a space for me to share opinions, opinions which were not worthy to be printed, certainly not worthy to be shared from behind a pulpit. It is my firm belief that I should avoid preaching opinion. The Word of God is influential enough, it is living enough, so much so that we shall never outrun its pages. I needn't add my tacky opinions onto the sufficient word of God. I am certainly not perfect on this point, but I try.

So, why start anew? Why contribute more broken words and thoughts into the mess of ideas already widely available to the human race at this point?

I think it's a combination of things. I believe that I am at my most joyful when I am expressing myself, allowing myself to take up worthwhile and meaningful work. I need artistic expression. Artistic expressions are, by their very nature, opinions, perspectives, approaches, guesses... They let us into the mind of the artist. They share, the faint hope, that someone else thinks as we do, perceives beauty as we do, loves as we do, demands justice as we do.

I read to remind myself that I am not alone. I read opinions I agree with, and vehemently disagree with. The first, because it tells me I am not crazy. The latter, because it causes me to think deeply about what I do truly believe. 

Finally, I blog again (at least I hope that this is the first in a string of artistic expressions, outflows, interconnected thoughts, call it what you will), because our world needs more conversation, not less.

I do not boast in myself. I am a man of 33 years of age, with a great deal of things to learn. But if I strive to be anything, it is the noble art of being reasonable. 

You will probably read things in this blog that you do not agree with. Excellent! I would hope that if I delved into your mind, I would not find it identical to my own. How could it possibly be so? But, what an opportunity? Let us all be reasonable, so that we might reason together. What a joyful opportunity we have to help one another grow in Christ-like character! 

The opposite is a tragedy. It is what is experienced every day across this fallen world. People are consumed. In every way. Head, shoulders, knees and toes. Mind and body. All is consumed. We are consumed by the news, by the thoughts of others, and by certain "escapes" (which I will necessarily need to delve into at some later date). We are consumed by politics, lesser passions, and by many, many good things!

Our idols do not sit on a shelf, cast of iron or carved from mahogany. We are consumed instead by a constant demand for progress, a need for various kinds of success and excess... Our world always demands to know what we are doing next. When are will you start dating? Be Married? Have Children!? Immediacy is a great idol of ours. We have no patient for a long, slow obedience to the Lord. That would take far too long, perhaps the rest of our lives, how ludicrous...

If any of this helps you feel less alone, that is wonderful. If it disappoints or frustrates you, that is nearly as good. You needn't agree with me. 

I named this blog OverproportioNATE as something of an experiment. Can the world have too much Nate? Yes, probably. But I hope that we never stop learning, or making one another better.

Thank you for reading, know that you are loved by God, blessed that you might be a blessing.
-Nate Roschen
























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If only a god could speak into our world...

 "I used to write like I had something to say." I will never stop writing lines such as these. Who I was will always be a fool. A man who knew less than he ought to. A man who could not know enough. I am thankful to always be learning more. But it makes stating anything definitively quite difficult. I will always revise my words, my thoughts. My best thought will change. Human words and reason are of limited value to me. We are far too conditional. We think of all things relative to ourselves. We are limited by experience, our background, our money, our language. There is nothing which does not limit us. If you were to travel extensively, see it all, know all cultures, all countries, all language. Well, then you'd be limited by your affluence. There is no ideal. There is no great perspective. If anything, the poor and the broken see more clearly. If only a god could speak into our world. If only He had something to say. We might have to listen to that. . . . His words mak
Read more

Something Held On To

Today I just have a little poem for you. Hopefully you can figure out what location it is about. Its a place pretty dear to my heart. Generations of children have stood watch here. run barefooted, or hid flags in shadows. It is a fair view from this plateau, the young still run, still chase, still find. Not often does light hide beauty. Isn't till nightfall that I find what is mine. Embers grow tired and songs are fleeting, Lights, as in chorus, show up on time. I always find myself here. Near the seldom used beach, and unpicked strawberry fields. Just 'neath the farmer's reach. They start to dimly pulse, a field full of flashing lights. Grander than superbowl kickoff, there, alone, these firefly sights. I wrote this poem about my favorite place at camp. And its funny, because so often, people are taking pictures the other way. The sunset there is gourgeous, and the colors are really amazing through the trees. But after most people have gone to bed, th
Read more

Maybe a little too much

Image
You can definitely have too much or too little of someone. Anyone reading this has experienced both. I'm starting this blog for quite a few reasons. Pretty excited to have a place to smear my thoughts. Something like really seedy raspberry jam onto some not-quite-toasty toast. I think it will be just right. And as place for me to just write. heh. Glad to have you here. I will do my best to make this something worth reading, at least when you are really bored. Or when you are far away from all other human contact. Or just when you miss me. Because, be honest, I know you are out there. And you will never have an overproportioNate amount of me. I guess to start, I should let you know where I am at and a little about what you should expect to find here. I am in the 2 2/3rds year of being married. It has been excellent. My wife is without a doubt the best part of me. We are living on a quiet little block of Ortonville, right near the school. I have a pinball machine in my living r
Read more