I was thinking about Jeet Kune Do and its philosophy awhile ago. Jeet Kune Do was a fighting philosophy constructed by Bruce Lee and essentially it means "Way of the intercepting fist." Haha..I used to be a crazy Bruce Lee fan and really I think some of the things that he mentioned and taught are also quite applicable to our life and in fact after thinking about it I kind of draw certain parallels from Jeet Kune Do's philiosphy to our relationship with God.
Every relationship is unique and we cannot in a way try to model one relationship after another relationship. I think it just doesn't work that way because every individual is different. And when you put 2 individuals together you are mixing 2 sets of quirkiness, peculiarities and eccentricities together. Similarly in our relationship with God we cannot expect to behave, serve, act in exactly the same way as another christian. I believe that God is a personal God. But sometimes...we allow institutions, culture and people to dictate to us what God is like.
I believe that God relates differently to every individual. For example, God speaks to us differently in such a way that only we can understand. Some of us feel God the strongest in a nature setting, some of us can experience God very strongly in a fellowship, some of us sees God in Science..some in Arts. I think for me I feel God the strongest when I'm in nature. There's no presence stronger to me than when I'm surrounded by trees..or looking out into the sea and seeing the wonders of nature. That's why I make it a point to go to the beach once in awhile just to experience the majesty of God.
In the philosophy of Jeet Kune Do to bring it down basically it is the way of no way. Heh...very "sage" right? But what Bruce Lee was trying to do was that he knew that every individual is different so he wanted to create a fighting concept to accommodate every individual's strength and weakness. In a way it is more of a concept than a system. Some people are stronger..so grappling will work for them..some have longer limbs so maybe punching or kicking is better. Some are weaker, so maybe fighting forms like Aikido and Wing Chun can be incorporated. What Jeet Kune Do is about is basically choosing techniques from any fighting system in the world that works best for you. It is like finding the clothes and accessories that fit and suit you the best..taking into account your height, skin colour and personality. So in a way Jeet Kune Do amplifies your strengths and find ways to minimize your weaknesses.
Ok..so why am I talking about Jeet Kune Do? Ain't God like that in relating to us? God knows we are all different. Some of us are introverts, some extroverts. Some sporty, some intellectuals and some just so full of faith. God knows that He doesn't have a fixed way to relate to us. He knows that for us to know He is there, He has to do things differently. He knows some of us doubt more so He has to create certain circumstances and situations in our lives so that we can believe and trust Him more. My point is that God doesn't expect us to conform to a certain culture or way of behaving. But that doesn't mean there's no principles to follow. In Jeet Kune Do...there are certain principles to adhere to such as taking the shortest distance in attacking. Similarly there are principles in the bible we adhere to..such as the ten commandments and having the right attitudes. Essentially, God doesn't expect and need us to relate to Him in a certain set way.
I was reading Obama's biography. He mentioned the dilemma he faced as a senator in dealing with the issue of abortion. He is a Christian and baptized. In dealing with conseravtives and the public he expressed in his book that he understood the moral implications of abortions but he cannot put a ban to it. He believed that few women made the decision to terminate unborn babies casually but he feared that a ban on abortion will force women to seek unsafe abortions. In a situation like that..I think God will not condemn or judge by saying that his lack of aggression and concreteness in a decision is a sin. Where you are, what you are doing, the family background you come from...the position you hold..the experiences you have been through are all taken into account when God relates to you.
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