Taking Your Faith to the Mechanic

There's an analogy I find helpful, yet it might push you a bit.

Almost all of us know the dreaded feeling you get when the check engine light comes on in your vehicle's dashboard. It's a friendly little icon that lets you know some type of trouble is brewing under the hood. Will it require a minor tweak or thousands of dollars in repairs? Only time (and a sometimes nerve-racking phone call) will tell.

Unless you are the rare person with the tools and the expertise to diagnose this yourself, you will then take your vehicle to a mechanic to figure out what's going on. Obviously, your goal is for them to determine the problem and then fix it for you. You likely don't know what the problem is... or how to fix it.

You are essentially paying a mechanic to deconstruct your vehicle. You're giving them permission to take apart whatever is needed to find the problem. And nobody assumes this is because you suddenly hate driving or because you think it's a hipster move to have a vehicle taken apart. You do this because you realized there was a problem and knew that this was the healthy way to solve it. And you need someone with the skill and experience to take these types of things apart (and put them back together).

I believe we have "check engine lights" for our souls, too. They are subtle indicators that something is wrong under the hood. Like when you find yourself snapping at someone you love, and you're not quite sure why you responded like that. Or when you find yourself feeling intense hatred, envy, or bitterness toward another person. Or when you lie in bed at night with an unease in your spirit, knowing that something is off, but not quite sure what it is. Or when you realize that those things you used to believe don't make the same sense to you anymore, but you're afraid of how others will react if you are honest about it.

All of these moments are your soul giving you a dashboard notice that something needs to be checked. And in these moments, you can respond by ignoring it (and allowing the problem to grow), or begin the journey of deconstructing some things in your life to figure out what's going on. Like the analogy of taking your vehicle to a mechanic, you might even realize you need someone else to help you navigate this season.

I recently had a great conversation with James McGrath, a professor of New Testament language and literature, about his upcoming book (stay tuned for a Cabernet and Pray episode about it soon). He talked about the value of having someone you can rely on through the spiritual journey.

If you're shopping for a car and don't know cars, you should bring someone along who does. Have you ever noticed how rarely those shopping for a faith actually consult an expert on the subject? How might "church shopping" be different if you could bring along a theologian or a biblical scholar?

It's a slightly different twist on the car analogy, but it fits well. There are moments when we need to deconstruct aspects of our lives, and often we would benefit from the assistance of someone who specializes in the process.

I like this mechanic analogy for two reasons:

1. It shows us how deconstruction (and reconstruction) are healthy parts of life
2. It shows us how we can benefit from someone who knows what to look for (and how to fix it)

You can drive your car with a check engine light and hope for the best. But in addition to the mounting anxiety this will likely produce, you will also eventually discover for yourself what the issue is when your vehicle stops working well. So too in your spiritual life. 

And yet, there's a better way.

Have the courage to take a step into the unknown and open the hood. Even better, invite someone who can help you in the process, too. There's even a life hack I've learned: you don't have to wait for the engine light to come on to deal with things. In fact, preventative maintenance often keeps the light from coming on in the first place. That's why healthy rhythms of deconstructing and rebuilding should be a regular part of our routine. 

And if you're looking for others to join with in a similar journey, we'd love to have you join us in the online community.

Photo by RyKing Uploads on Unsplash