Get Dirty
2007-11-20WARNING: this is an incomplete thought. But that’s never stopped me before.
I may have found a common ground between Christian agrarians and Christian urbanists like myself. It’s dirt.
A true Christian agrarian isn’t just about living in the country. He’s about getting his hands dirty in the soil, actually being connected to the land. I submit that you can’t really be an agrarian without getting dirty.
A true Christian urbanist isn’t just about living in the city. He’s about getting his hands dirty in other people’s lives, actually being connected to those around him. I submit that you can’t really be an urbanist without getting dirty.
I like this symmetry, especially because it harmonizes these two major approaches to life.
Now, Leithart has pointed out that the essence of modernity is the avoidance of dirt. But I think that, as Christians, we do not have this option. We were made from the dirt, and we will return to the dirt. As such, we are called to be involved in dirt, whether that be the actual dirt of the ground or the dirt of other people’s lives. Removing ourselves from the dirt is to remove ourselves from our created place.
So, how are you getting dirty for Jesus? If you can’t think of the answer, maybe it’s because you’re not.