Holy Contrariness

We don’t have to look far to see something about an endangered species.
One group or another fighting to protect something valuable.
People get on their soapbox and fight to protect what is near and dear to their heart.
Do we take the time to ask what is near and dear to God’s heart?

Last fall, a favorite author of mine, Wendell Berry, granted a rare interview.
Berry is described as a visionary, author, and a Kentucky farmer.
During the interview, he read excerpts of his poems and essays.
In no time at all, it is easy to see where he stands.

I’ve been talking for a long time about leadership from the bottom and I’m convinced perfectly that it’s happening and that the leadership consists of people who simply see something that needs to be done and they start doing it.

Simple wisdom.

In his essay, “The Contrariness of the Mad Farmer” Berry writes,

I am done with apologies. If contrariness is my inheritance and destiny, so be it. If it is my mission to go in at exits and come out at entrances, so be it. I have planted by the stars in defiance of the experts, and tilled somewhat by incantation and by singing, and reaped, as I knew, by luck in Heaven’s favor, in spite of the best advice…

Contrariness: inclined to oppose or disagree stubbornly; perverse.
Berry is not apologizing for his contrariness.
Contrariness concerning the right things is necessary.
What are the right things?

Berry calls them the “precious things.”

A lot of my writing I think has been, when it hasn’t been in defense of precious things, has been a giving of thanks for precious things...It’s mighty hard right now to think of anything that’s precious that isn’t endangered. But maybe that’s an advantage. The poet, William Butler Yeats said somewhere, “things reveal themselves passing away.” And it may be that the danger that we’ve now inflicted upon every precious thing reveals the preciousness of it and shows us our duty.

I have pondered what Wendell Berry calls “precious things.”
Which goes back to my original question.
Do we take the time to ask what is near and dear to God’s heart?
Those things that are near and dear to God’s heart are the “precious things.”

I thought of William Butler Yeats’ comment: things reveal themselves passing away.
As we see our freedoms slipping away, we see the preciousness of them.
They are worth fighting for.
Seeing them slip away is to our advantage; there is still time to fight.

We fight for what we think we are about to lose.
Our indifference and lethargy will quickly end if we see life, as we know it, slip away.
The slipping away is already happening.
Where is our contrariness?

Where is our voice?
What are our passions?
What is worth fighting for?
Why are we spending our time on useless things?

You’re free when you realize that you’re willing to go to the length that’s necessary.

Go to the length that’s necessary.
We have far to go.

In this global world, we have forgotten our neighbor that is right next to us.
In this virtual world of faceless friends, we have forgotten the art of conversation.
In this relative world where everything is true, nothing is true.
In this world of no absolutes, we are absolutely drowning in mediocrity.

A discourse between the interviewer and Wendell Berry says it all:
Do you think that you’ve put yourself in front of the locomotive of history, waving your arms and shouting, “Stop!”?

Oh sure. And you can do that very comfortably if you’re willing to be run over. I suppose I went with my friends to sit in the governor’s office because I was willing to be run over.

Were you?

Yeah. Of course. You can’t do that without being willing to be…it’s dangerous to…to do acts of civil disobedience. I think once you’ve…once you’ve crossed that line, well, something is settled.

Once you’ve crossed that line, well, something is settled.
Have we crossed the line as the people of God?
Have we settled in our hearts where our battle line has been drawn?
Have we crossed that line with a holy contrariness?

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

What is near and dear to the heart of God?
When you settle that in your heart, then you must decide if it is worth fighting for.
If it is worth fighting for, then a line has to be crossed.
When the line is crossed, something is settled.

We must practice Holy Contrariness for His Glory.

(Quotes taken from Moyers and Company, Full Show: Wendell Berry, October 4, 2013)

2 responses to “Holy Contrariness”

1. Dear Gina,
   What a soft whollop! This is a “coming to oneself,” like the prodigal did. May we cling with all our might to the truth of God and the God of truth and walk in that holy contrariness.

   Reply

   • Michelle,
     What a job we have to do. Deciding where the battle line has been drawn and to cross it, if necessary. Then the precious things will be protected. Something is finally settled in the crossing.
     Gina

     Reply