I loved coming back to uni and the EU at the start of this year. It felt like home. Somehow though, something had given me more clarity into a niggling annoyance I've had with the EU, and now I actually know what it is.
I really HATE being told to "be excited".
In all seriousness, what comes to my mind when I'm told to be excited is not "okay then". It's not even "No". It's something more akin to "F*** off". I REALLY don't like it. I'm not sure exactly why, but hopefully I can work some of it out here.
First reason: it's false.
If I'm not already excited about something, and if you don't convince me of something's worth by explaining its virtues, then for me to comply with your exhortation I have to lie.
Second reason: it's unnatural.
Individuals all react differently to, and feel differently about, the same things. Inasmuch as we're a community of believers and inextricably bound to each other with Christ's blood, each believer is an individual. It's not necessarily an unhealthy thing - we all are born and die alone, in the sense that we're (usually) the only one experiencing that moment. Likewise, the myriad of other moments we experience in life we experience in our own ways, with the mind, body and emotions God made us with. For some people, excitement is not really what they do, even though for others it's their perpetuity.
Third reason: it looks weird.
If anyone who isn't part of the Christian community, or even part of a different Christian community, notices any kind of unnatural feel to our excitement, there goes whatever reputation we had for authenticity. Also, it looks plastic fantastic, as though we have our heads in the clouds and can't see the crap in the world. Nobody likes plastic fantastic Christians, not even other Christians.
Fourth reason: it's assumptive.
To tell someone what to be excited about, you first have to assume two things: a) that they are unable to become excited about good things on their own, and b) the thing you're promoting is good. The first thing is rarely true - God made us pretty awesome, and in general we react to things appropriately. The second, unfortunately, is by no means a safe assumption to make, no matter how much work has gone into it. If something relies on excitement to be successful, it's either not really all that inherently effective, or it'll work a whole heap better with naturally-grown and authentic excitement. Not everything needs people to be excited about it for it to work. If that were the case, the Anglican church would be a bible study in some small house in Canterbury, and the divorce rate would be one for one.
Fifth reason: it's not what Jesus did.
I'm generally not a fan of common Christian practices or mindsets that Jesus didn't start. They tend to be a little baseless. Jesus didn't tell his disciples to be excited about his ministry, but everybody was (one way or the other :oP). We're supposedly carrying on His ministry. Why do we feel as though we need to tell people to be excited? Do we fear a lack of substance? Maybe we're looking for substance in the wrong place.
Sixth reason: see my post entitled "what should I write...?" and apply it to the simple paraphrase "you should be excited about this thing".
I don't actually think that the EU is the only organisation doing this - I'm pretty sure it's a fairly universal thing for Christians around Sydney. I love the EU, and my church, and my brothers and sisters in other churches, but I think this is ugly, and that there's gotta be a better, less irritating way to be effective Christians... whatever that means. Grace and the power of the Spirit, anyone?
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