Is That Really Living?

By pastorbillwalden

My friend Roby Duke (now with Jesus) once said this to a group of song writers: “Your inspiration is perfect, but your songwriting needs work”.

We can be wonderfully inspired to express ourselves, but not quite have the ability, time, or energy to rightly say what we are trying to say.  Perhaps the inspiration is fighting against good common sense that would tell us to slow down and think it through.  Now is such a moment for me.  The inspiration is perfect.  I am rushing ahead.  I hope this comes out O.K.

QUESTION: “It is easy to live vicariously through others, but is that really living?”

Let’s start with one of many definitions for the word “vicarious”.
“Felt or enjoyed through imagined participation in the experience of others”: a vicarious thrill.

There is a place for such experience in moderation, but our world is making it increasingly easy for people to feel emotions that don’t have any corresponding personal experience.

We can dial up, Google, Net Flix, read, browse, or Pay Per View our way to any emotion we want, without ever having to actually “do” something that requires dedication, effort, commitment, or faith.

If there was ever a generation that could become addicted to “feeling without doing”, that generation is now.

One might ask what the danger or problem is with living vicariously through the great accomplishments of others. Some of that might be O.K., in that it might inspire us to aspire to do great things.  Plus, it certainly feels good to feel good.  So what’s the problem?

The problem is this: That kind of living, if it becomes the habitual lifestyle of a person, does nothing to produce in them the quality traits needed to actually enjoy those emotions from first hand accomplishment.

I understand that some of the things that “thrill” us are only for a few to actually experience.  We can’t all go out and win gold medals, climb Mt. Everest, or do world tours singing about changing the world.

But I wonder, if vicarious living comes to satisfy us to the point that we don’t pursue what we COULD BE DOING, then has it gone too far?  I say “yes”: then it has gone to far.

So….what is it that you are actually supposed to be doing?

I submit to you that actually desiring, struggling, sacrificing, and dedicating one’s self on a personal level is far more important than taking the vicarious route of simply feeling the goose bumps from someone else’s accomplishment.  The satisfaction that comes from personal accomplishment is much more valuable than enjoying someone else’s “bigger than life” accomplishment.

Finally, if you are a follower of Jesus, then He wants to live through you. Your part is to surrender, seek His will, believe His promises, walk in holiness by His power, and take small and big steps of faith in responding to what He wants to do through you.

That process has been the most satisfying part of my life, whenever I have actually gotten out of the way long enough for it to happen.  The small victories of having my life so bound up in His life have been the most satisfying experiences of my life. My experiences may not compare to some of the great accomplishments of others, but they don’t need to.  They are my experiences with God, and I can have first hand satisfaction from them.

Rich Mullins said it well: “Jesus, write me into Your story…whisper it to me.”