The Temptation to Be Relevant

Henri Nouwen interprets the first temptation of Christ as a compulsion to be relevant (“turn stones into loaves”) .

The temptation to stay relevant and useful is strong in today’s society. We are all encouraged to stay current and knowledgeable about the latest technology, to have careers that make a difference, to be productive, efficient, and continually evolving and up-to-date in all areas. We want our existence to matter.

For example, let’s take a common job from the 1920’s—that of a milkman--who delivered fresh milk daily to households. The role of the milkman became obsolete with the advent of pasteurization. There are still places in the U.S. where people deliver raw milk to homes. However, this job would not be considered relevant anymore.

“To be a Christian who is willing to travel with Christ on his downward road requires being willing to detach oneself constantly from any need to be relevant, and to trust ever more deeply the Word of God. Thus, we do not resist the temptation to be relevant by doing irrelevant things, but by clinging to the Word of God who is the source of all relevancy.” (Henri Nouwen)

Following Christ is not a path of ascendency to higher levels of worth, but a downward road leading to valleys of humility. We must detach ourselves from our desire to be useful, to do things that matter in the eyes of the world. This doesn’t mean we spend our time and energy doing useless things, but that we are only influenced by what matters to God.