“Nothing that is worth doing can be accomplished in your lifetime;
therefore you will have to be saved by hope.
Nothing that is beautiful will make sense in the immediate instance;
therefore, you must be saved by faith.
Nothing that is worth doing can be done alone, but has to be done with others;
therefore you will have to be saved by hope.
Nothing that is beautiful will make sense in the immediate instance;
therefore, you must be saved by faith.
Nothing that is worth doing can be done alone, but has to be done with others;
therefore you must be saved by love.”
Ok, well. Now that I've posted it, I would like to disagree with it. I think it's much too presumptuous a quote, and much too ultimatum-ly saying EVERYTHING is this way, or NOTHING is that way. When, I completely disagree.
ReplyDeleteIf, for instance, NOTHING that is worth doing can be accomplished in my lifetime, then nothing worth doing will ever be accomplished in the life of the world, because while I'm alive, I plan on carrying on other people's accomplishments, as well as starting me own. And if LIVING, itself, is not worth doing, then I don't know what is. Is raising a family worth doing? According to this, it is not. Is taking risks worth doing? According to this, it is not.
And can I not climb a mountain on my own, and consider this worth doing? Can I not clean my room to feel better about my surroundings, and consider this worth doing?
I disagree with this quote immensely. However, it was a nice thought.
What I meant by the second paragraph is... things are always being done in other people's lives that are worth while, and if there are only a couple things worth doing according to the author, surely someone, somewhere started something worth while (what ever it was) some time ago, and could be completed while I am alive on this earth.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the last supposition in the poem. I can't do anything good on my own? That's ridiculous. Of course I can. I can be so happy, all alone, by myself, without anyone to love . . .
ReplyDeleteOkay, so he's not totally wrong. But 'alone' is where I do most of my prep work - the work that allows me to appreciate other people when I am with them, and that allows me to have something I can give them. What could better qualify as something worth doing?
Sera, this guy has a way with words and beautiful sentiments, but he might be sacrificing truth for the sake of drama. Making him my kindred spirit - I do that all the time.
I completely agree with you. It has made me think more about hope, faith and love, and their roles in the above proposed ideas, and I believe he has SOMETHING when it comes to these sentiments, but he's over-stepped the mark, over-exaggerated the meaning and generally OVER done it. But it still makes me think. Maybe it's not worthy of having been posted on here. Dunno.
ReplyDeleteI rescind my previous statement. Dr. Neibuhr is right, by George! Anything done totally alone - without God - is useless. And in the context of eternity, nothing can be considered worth doing or beautiful if it is restricted to this lifetime alone.
ReplyDeleteMaybe keep this quote posted. It has something important to say, even if that something is mostly indirect.