SHALOMER:

one striving for God's reign to come to earth, bringing his peace, wholeness, completeness, and health to all aspects of life.

Can I call myself a "Shalomer"?

So clearly the name of this blog is a made up word.  I wish I had made it up because I'm really clever, but in reality "Shalom" was taken.  However, after much thought I am glad it was taken; I like the term "Shalomer."  I think I should get a royalty every time someone uses the term from here on out.  


The question at hand is: if this term can be defined the way I have defined it, as "one striving for God's reign to come to earth, bringing his peace, wholeness, completeness, and health to all aspects of life," can I rightly describe myself as such a person?  Can you?


If I were seeking reasons to answer in the affirmative for myself, I could come up with a fairly impressive list showing why I should be considered such a person.  However, am I, in my heart, truly striving for God's reign?  Am I striving for his wholeness and health in all aspects of my life?  Allow me to create a brief list off the top of my head of attributes which might describe a "Shalomer":


- Radically submits all areas of one's life to God, doing the hard work of submission (confessing sin to others, giving up enjoyable habits, changing attitudes, repenting)


- Regularly works to counteract existing structures which are oppressive in order to liberate those who need wholeness the most


- Is not content with personal wholeness, but longs for the wholeness of others, and even for the health and wholeness of society


- Sees God's reign as applying first to people, but not only to people; realizes that God's reign and peace and wholeness must come also to this physical world


- Does not tolerate in oneself or in others an unhealthy bifurcation between soul and body; recognizes that God's reign and health applies to all of life, as much to our workouts as our prayers, as much to our actions in the supermarket as to our actions in church


- Passionately seeks out relationships with other human beings, valuing them above all tasks or desires or roles, and longing through those relationships to bring health on every level to others and to strive for greater health and wholeness in oneself


That's the quick list I was able to come up with.  After considering it, I am now quite sure I am not a Shalomer.  Do I long to be?  Absolutely.  But I have a long way to go...  How about you?  Which of these are a struggle for you?  Which am I wrong about?  What aspects of being a Shalomer am I missing??  (Since I just made up the word, we really can make it whatever we want, don't you think?)  I welcome your comments...

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