I often find myself in tension with the people who look and sound like me. The tell-tales are there; white, educated in the west, an accent firmly rooted in America. What you cannot see brings more than even I imagine. A son of mother India, influenced by culture, attitude, and approach more than I understand, I am a product growing from two distinct cultures. It is as if I am trying to create a new way from their language, value systems, and interactions.
One thing is clear. Ends never justify the means. If one wants to solve the ends then control the means. Processes are the key to change; any manipulation at the end will reveal itself quickly and destructively. The challenge is simple yet often frustratingly complex. What are the processes and how can I make their destination clear so that each person is in a position to make a choice?
Too often we want to be dysfunctional. We want a sweet grace filled ending after being selfish, inconsistent, and judgmental along the way. If our destination is coming clear then we force things, read that manipulate, to provide the course correction necessary. If it works once, we try twice and twice gives birth to a third attempt!
From the East we know that this will never work. The key that the West ignores is that the gods (and God) know the facts and will take action. Toy with them you might, fool them you will not. Yet my friends and even my true self acts and behaves as if God is blind, dumb, and foolish.
“A bad motive can’t achieve a good end; double-talk brings you double trouble.” (Proverbs 17.20)
The tension between ends and means plays itself out every day. I have no easy solution. While the answer is clear, my ability to stay with a decision flounders. The true question is not when I will fail but how I will respond to the present. My pursuit is the key to God’s heart. He has already won the battle for us.
