Unpopular opinion: you are not 'ok' just the way you are.
It is all over culture-bumper stickers that read 'born ok the first time', facebook statuses that read 'just me doin' me', and things like that. The culture narrative these days has become 'you are ok just the way you are.' It is a poisonous ideology that pervades our culture and makes room for all sorts of evil. It sounds harmless, and perhaps even good. Somebody just be alright with who they are, and should not seek to change. But that is a relatively new ideology that has major consequences. It is prudent for us to constantly seek to be changing, always for the better. When we make allowances and compromises for things that are seen as evil under the guise of not offending, it distorts what is seen as normal. Even the word 'normal' has come to be seen as almost a negative in our society, when the word 'normal' has traditionally just meant what is good and right. In our society of no 'normals' there are also no 'goods' or right. Perhaps I am not explaining my point well enough. We need not think that everything that a person can be is fine, and we do not. Most people would agree that the 'radical' things like pedophilia and psychopathy are evils which are detrimental to the well being of our society and culture. However, because we have permitted so many other things that used to be seen as sexual perversions and moral ills, we have negated a culture of 'fixing' yourself and weeding out those things within oneself which are negative. Do not get me wrong, I am not advocating for a universal personality, or even necessarily a morality wherein everyone follows exactly the same criteria all of the time (indeed, different situations call for different decisions), however, I am advocating for gravitating back towards a society wherein it is permissible and even healthy to align oneself with what is good and right. I know the next step is asking what is good and right, and I get that and that is a discussion that is utterly worth having. However, not everything that a person can be is good and this idea that one needn't try and ever better oneself is simply erroneous.
I know that this will receive some push-back and perhaps some do not even agree with me that this is a prevailing culture narrative. But when you look closely at the things that our culture longs and tempts you to believe, the idea that you are perfect just the way that you are is in there. And I know I am not perfect; I have so far to go, please let me be clear about that. However, I am open to change. I admit that part of who I am in not perfect and is unacceptable. Granted, there is grace in my failings. But I implore our culture to think likewise, to be utterly at peace with admitting that not everything a person is or can be is good, it's not. Much of what we desire (and what we desire and do plays a major part in us becoming who we are) is not good for ourselves or society and culture. That's ok to say. We need to restrict parts of ourselves; that is ok to say. Most of who we are is self-centered and apathetic towards the suffering going on around us. That is ok to say. What is not ok is to persist in those beliefs and practices when we as a society and a culture could be so much greater than we are. We are meant for great things if only we would admit that we are not good. We have a long way to go. This ideology combined with the previous one that I wrote about has our society headed in dangerous and unprecedented territory. We should stop and seriously consider that social ideologies that we buy into everyday.
You are not ok the way you are. Not everything you want is good. But now that you believe that, seek to be greater.
