I AM A ROCK by Paul Simon
I’ve built walls
A fortress deep and mighty
That none may penetrate
I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain
It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain
I am a rock
I am an island
Don’t talk of love
But I’ve heard the words before
It’s sleeping in my memory
I won’t disturb the slumber of feelings that have died
If I never loved I never would have cried
I am a rock
I am an island
And a rock feels no pain
And an island never cries
I recently started reading Ann Voskamp’s book, The Way of Abundance. The Lord is is using it to redefine what a life of abundance looks like for me. Some days, I highlight sentence after sentence. Other days, the pages are white, and I know that I need time to process all the previously highlighted words.
This section, on page 33, spoke to me. “Sure, life and people will try to tell you loudly that you need to be like a rock, that you’ll need to harden up to live in a harsh world, be impenetrable, unmoved. But no one can really live the abundant life that way. Rocks don’t breathe. Because they are dead”.
Consider the truth of this statement and the many ways people attempt to become rocks. The first one deals with relationships with others. It is easy to isolate, or not seek meaningful relationships, because people can be messy. We live in a fallen world with sinful people who, despite our best efforts, will do things to hurt us. Some struggle to know what healthy relationships look like, and become hurt and disillusioned when the people we choose to call friends behave in unhealthy ways. And so we become a rock, because rocks don’t need friends.
Others attempt to become rocks is through self sufficiency. While there is honor in being responsible and taking care of your own business, it can become unhealthy when there is assistance available and it is turned down due to pride. To live a life without sharing the load with others can leave one weary and resentful.
One of the saddest forms of rocks are those individuals who shut down emotion and attempt to live life as a robot. It might be appear safer to avoid emotion, especially when the pain is great, but the truth is that you can’t eliminate feelings of pain without also eliminating joy. You can’t know and experience peace unless you know and experience chaos. Living life as a rock can block God’s blessings.
Jesus never demonstrated or advocated becoming rocks. In the gospels, Jesus brings Peter, James and John to the Garden of Gethsemane with Him. It would have been easy for Jesus to go to the Garden alone, and yet He chose to bring His inner circle with Him. The early church in Acts did not handle life in isolation. They were not rocks. The Bible tells us that the early believers shared everything they had (Acts 2:44). And did Jesus shut down emotionally? The shortest verse in the Bible tells us “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Jesus came to earth knowing he would sacrifice His life, and yet He chose to embrace the accompanying emotions.
If you tire of living life like a rock, Restoration Counseling Center can help. I would love to walk with you as you learn to become the fully alive believer in Christ that you are created to be.