The Rest Is Not Our Business
Trying to use words, and every attempt
Is a wholy new start, and a different kind of failure
Because one has only learnt to get the better of words
For the thing one no longer has to say, or the way in which
One is no longer disposed to say it. And so each venture
Is a new beginning, a raid on the inarticulate,
With shabby equipment always deteriorating
In the general mess of imprecision of feeling,
Undisciplined squads of emotion. And what there is to conquer
By strength and submission, has already been discovered
Once or twice, or several times, by men whom one cannot hope
To emulate - but there is no competition -
There is only the fight to recover what has been lost
And found and lost again and again: and now, under conditions
That seem unpropitious. But perhaps neither gain nor loss.
For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.
- T.S. Eliot, "Four Quartets"
Do you ever feel this way? "Every attempt is a wholly new start, and a different kind of failure". I do, in my faith mostly. I listen, I learn, I rejoice, and then soon I forget the truths I held so close only a month ago. T.S. Eliot's poem is about writing specifically, but the ideas in it are something to consider and apply. In life we want to be known for who we are, what we do, and we crave accomplishment. But how often do we discover or do something really original or memorable in life? "And what there is to conquer by strength and submission, has already been discovered once or twice, or several times, by men whom one cannot hope to emulate". The C.S. Lewis', Mother Teresas, George Washingtons, and a host others have already gone before me and have done more than I probably ever will. I cannot emulate them, but that is okay because "there is not competition". That is God's grace in our lives, and that is the beauty of our identity in Him. Even though we do fail sometimes (okay, a plethora of times), that is not what matters. What matters is the pursuit to regain what has been lost - the pursuit of knowledge and order like Washington, the pursuit of Christ's love by Teresa, and the pursuit of truth by Lewis. Because even as people like these and others constantly demonstrate and uncover good values, morals, etc., they are often soon forgotten in our minds and hearts. Our job in life is to seek God, the divine, in everything, because it is there. God has a real presence in our lives and when we look for Him and strive to be like Christ Jesus, He will show us how and we will fulfill the specific purpose He has for us. And what He tells us to do may very well be a hard things for us to, because God is not safe. He may expect difficult things of us, as the Bible often talks about. He is, however, very good.
I guess that what I want to say in closing is that we need not compare ourselves to others. When we take our lives into our own hands and try to take on too much or be someone we're not, it will bring weariness and you will feel "in the general mess of imprecision of feeling", like nothing is getting done and you are not growing! And sometimes we fall into this. I know I do. But it's okay. Get back up on your feet and say to God - "I'm ready to put on Your yoke, not mine. I trust You. Lead me." And He will, and in His way He will use you to recover what has been lost in this world and you will feel like something is getting done because it will be God's right purpose for YOU. In the words of T.S. Eliot - "The rest is not our business."
Is a wholy new start, and a different kind of failure
Because one has only learnt to get the better of words
For the thing one no longer has to say, or the way in which
One is no longer disposed to say it. And so each venture
Is a new beginning, a raid on the inarticulate,
With shabby equipment always deteriorating
In the general mess of imprecision of feeling,
Undisciplined squads of emotion. And what there is to conquer
By strength and submission, has already been discovered
Once or twice, or several times, by men whom one cannot hope
To emulate - but there is no competition -
There is only the fight to recover what has been lost
And found and lost again and again: and now, under conditions
That seem unpropitious. But perhaps neither gain nor loss.
For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.
- T.S. Eliot, "Four Quartets"
Do you ever feel this way? "Every attempt is a wholly new start, and a different kind of failure". I do, in my faith mostly. I listen, I learn, I rejoice, and then soon I forget the truths I held so close only a month ago. T.S. Eliot's poem is about writing specifically, but the ideas in it are something to consider and apply. In life we want to be known for who we are, what we do, and we crave accomplishment. But how often do we discover or do something really original or memorable in life? "And what there is to conquer by strength and submission, has already been discovered once or twice, or several times, by men whom one cannot hope to emulate". The C.S. Lewis', Mother Teresas, George Washingtons, and a host others have already gone before me and have done more than I probably ever will. I cannot emulate them, but that is okay because "there is not competition". That is God's grace in our lives, and that is the beauty of our identity in Him. Even though we do fail sometimes (okay, a plethora of times), that is not what matters. What matters is the pursuit to regain what has been lost - the pursuit of knowledge and order like Washington, the pursuit of Christ's love by Teresa, and the pursuit of truth by Lewis. Because even as people like these and others constantly demonstrate and uncover good values, morals, etc., they are often soon forgotten in our minds and hearts. Our job in life is to seek God, the divine, in everything, because it is there. God has a real presence in our lives and when we look for Him and strive to be like Christ Jesus, He will show us how and we will fulfill the specific purpose He has for us. And what He tells us to do may very well be a hard things for us to, because God is not safe. He may expect difficult things of us, as the Bible often talks about. He is, however, very good.
I guess that what I want to say in closing is that we need not compare ourselves to others. When we take our lives into our own hands and try to take on too much or be someone we're not, it will bring weariness and you will feel "in the general mess of imprecision of feeling", like nothing is getting done and you are not growing! And sometimes we fall into this. I know I do. But it's okay. Get back up on your feet and say to God - "I'm ready to put on Your yoke, not mine. I trust You. Lead me." And He will, and in His way He will use you to recover what has been lost in this world and you will feel like something is getting done because it will be God's right purpose for YOU. In the words of T.S. Eliot - "The rest is not our business."
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