The Dangers of “Individuality,” “Rebellion,” and “Progressiveness”
Individualism – Part One
I teach English composition to college freshman…your prayers are appreciated. Every semester I have the same basic expectations for the term: I’ll have twenty students each of average to sub par writing abilities, with one exceptionally good writer. Half-way through the semester, after financial aid comes through, a third of my class will disappear and stop coming to class. And finally, I expect that there will be one student who, for whatever reason, will annoy me to death. Sometimes it’s the overachiever who even after reading every detail on my syllabus and additional papers, and after hearing every explanation of the expectations and requirements for the course will proceed to seek further clarification after every class period. Let me be clear, I appreciate and applaud hard work and diligence. But I can’t help but get annoyed by the straight “A” student who always thinks they are failing and needs to talk about extra credit assignments every week. Other times, however, the annoyance comes from a student like Ronnie (name changed).
Ronnie was a young freshman I had several years ago whom I am sure I will never forget. He was a seemingly sweet kid, but he possessed a mouth that ran longer than the Energizer Bunny and a brain that didn’t. Consistently he made comments, in the middle of my lectures, that he thought were super witty…they weren’t. He would be contentious just for the sake of being contentious, and he always had a “come back.” I never was quite sure what Ronnie’s “issues” were. Maybe he was just socially awkward. But it seemed likely to me that Ronnie had a desperate need to stand out, to get noticed, to have attention. He was more than just a class clown, he was approval starved. I think some of the reason that Ronnie has stuck with me is because I resonate with his desire, as we all do at some level. We are all ambitious for the praise of men, we want recognition, we want to be noticed. And often this desire leads us to pursue self-interest and eventually self-idolatry, and this is what makes for unbiblical individualism. Unbiblical individualism is a poison in our souls, and we must, therefore, address it.
While I have argued that not all individualism is bad, I also recognize that most pursuits for distinction come from selfish motives. We want glory and attention all for ourselves, but the truth is that we ought to be consumed with pointing people to God. We ought to be consumed with giving God the glory and attention. Dave Harvey says we are all “glory-swipers,” and we make a regular practice of stealing God’s glory and calling it our own.Harveywrites:
Deeply embedded in my sinful flesh is a desire to install myself as lord over all. I want my name worshiped, my glory exalted, and my fame talked about long after I’m dead. But by pursuing this selfish ambition, we fall short, tragically short of the greatness and glory of God.[1]
The necessity for distinction is rooted in selfish pride and this is sin. Individualism that expresses itself as, “Hey look at me! I’ve got the cool clothes, the cool gadgets, the cool style, etc.” is sinful individualism. This pursuit denies two things: (1) That all glory belongs to God, and (2) that God’s approval is better than man’s. Many a hipster pursues self-distinction because they love the praise of men. Of course this isn’t a hipster problem, it’s a human problem (something I think McCracken misses). But the gospel gives us freedom from this pursuit and redirects our attention away from the praise of men to the praise of our heavenly Father. So Harvey writes with beauty of the freedom the gospel gives us from selfish-distinction. He says:
Apart from God, our quest for greatness is often a search for approval. I want to be applauded and esteemed. I live for praise. I attempt great things because I crave being celebrated. Selfish ambition is often a desperate quest for an earthly “Atta-boy,” a drive to fashion a world that worships me. The gospel brings me explosive news: my search for approval is over. In Christ I already have all the approval I need.[2]
Where sinful individualism goes wrong is in ignoring the gospel and in ignoring the example of Jesus.
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[1] Dave Harvey. Rescuing Ambition. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010. 46.
[2] Ibid. 56.
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