People of Order
Editor’s Note: In May 2021, Elizabeth Ochoa, the 11th/12th-grade Lead Instructor, gave the following speech at the Graduation Ceremony:
Let us begin with a quote from a book called, Not the Way it’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin, by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.:
“In the literature of Scripture, wisdom is, broadly speaking, the knowledge of God’s world and the knack of fitting oneself into it . . . In the biblical view, the wise are righteous and the righteous are wise: these are people who love and fear God, affirm God’s world, live gladly within its borders, and make music there according to divine time and key signatures. The wise are always “in order.” Insofar as they live right, they also live well.”
The phrase that captures the attention is: “The wise are always ‘in order.’” I have had the privilege of spending time among various Christian communities, and I feel that the time I’ve spent alongside people who live in accordance with a true assessment of reality has given me a keener awareness of people who live from a place of internal “disorder.” There is a certain instability in the thought patterns of those in disorder that leads to a general level of relational chaos in their lives. They seem to trip over themselves constantly, turning normal, everyday interactions into instances of misunderstanding, overreaction, and conflict. They are guided by vague principles that change with the ebb and flow of cultural opinion. They are generally unaware of the emotions that are influencing their reactions. They don’t know why they are angry, or sad, or jealous. They don’t stop to ask why so many of their relationships are in disarray. They misread people, mistrust kindness, misjudge intentions, misuse gifts. And while there are certainly people of this kind of general disorder, we can all relate to areas of disorder in our own lives.
How is it, according to Plantinga, that the “wise are always ‘in order?’” How does one live a whole life out of stability and peace? And most importantly what can be offered to guide students to a stable path of rightly-ordered fruitfulness?
Consider two Biblical contrasts between order and disorder. The book of Romans speaks about this contrast as both life vs. death, and spirit vs. flesh. So we have two general categories: order, Spirit and life, on the one hand, and disorder, flesh, and death on the other. A reading from Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a passage in which he addresses the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. According to the epistle, “. . . the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do . . . Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
When we pause to consider just a sampling of these works of the flesh, namely, jealousy, fits of anger, drunkenness, sensuality, it’s not difficult to imagine how they easily lead to disorder in a person’s life. And when left completely unchecked over the course of a life, we can imagine them leading to death.
In contrast, Galatians tells us that the fruits of the Spirit are evident in these: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It is easy to understand how patience, peace, kindness, and self-control are stabilizing, order-creating influences in a person’s life. They cause flourishing both for the one who practices them and for those who receive the outworkings of these characteristics from the one who practices them.
Students, my advice to you as you embark on the next phase of your journey, as you seek out mentors, friends, and community, is to ask yourself this question about the people you invite into your life: Are they people of order? Are they governed by principles that align with God’s revealed truth? Do they make choices that promote life and well-being? Are they peace-making and joyful? Do they exercise control over themselves? Are they kind? Do they keep their commitments and demonstrate faithfulness? Are they dependable? Do they seek your good? Do they rejoice when you flourish?
The opposite question is equally important: Are they people of disorder? What governs these people? Are they led by their own desires and impulses? Do they believe in subjective truth and the primacy of individual feeling and experience? Do they make choices that cost other people? Are they divisive and troublesome? Do they live from a place of cynicism and negativity? Do they master their appetites, or is the reverse true? Are they unkind? Are they unreliable and excuse-making? Do they seek your good and rejoice when you flourish, or are they apathetic to your fortunes and jealous when you prosper?
Let’s dig a little deeper. People can also be well-meaning, affable, kind, even good, and still living out of disorder. They can have magnetic charisma, attention-grabbing wit, and humor, organization-changing leadership ability. Like the rain, God’s blessings are universal; they fall heedlessly over the broad swath of image-bearing humanity. Thus, many are intelligent, many are generous, many are compassionate, many are organized, productive, constructive, kind.
The bane of youth is that you haven’t lived long enough to see where people end up. The benefit of age is finally witnessing the outcome of people’s choices. Everyone looks the same in college, and life rushes toward the young in abundance. There is a season where most of your peers, whether their choices have been good or bad, grounded in faith, or grounded in self-interest, will begin down similar paths. They move, they marry, they get promoted, they have children. They influence, they dress well, they motivate, they attract. And for awhile, you struggle to hold on to the promise that, “they are blessed who keep God’s testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart.”
Consider our Romans memory work, which diverts us from thinking in terms of popular or obscure, relevant or obsolete, good or bad, but rather in terms of dead or alive, flesh or Spirit. Jesus said a hard thing once (more than once). He said: “Whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever does not gather with me, scatters.” And I challenge you with this thought: the greater the unredeemed giftedness, the greater the scattering. Some of the most effective influencers in the world have inspired mass genocide. Some of the shrewdest financial minds have bilked thousands out of their life savings. It isn’t enough to have all the appearance of goodness. There is a deeper substance demanded.
Galatians reveals that the life-giving characteristics already mentioned are fruits of the Spirit, arising from His influence, an influence that is exercised over a person who has submitted their very nature to the fundamental order of the universe: the order of the soul that is regenerated through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.
Attach yourselves to people of fundamental order. Be yourselves people of fundamental order. Gather with Christ, and seek out those who gather with him. Order yourselves and grow in the fruits of the Spirit. Be prepared to be different from the world you are heading into. Don’t be surprised when your choices bring temporary loneliness or derision. It is easy to be disordered. One could say it comes naturally. It is hard work to be ordered. But that is where life is found, real life, true life, life that continues into eternity.
Keep God’s Word as the guiding light of your life. Seek His wisdom in all matters. Surround yourselves with people who encourage you in your faith. Look beyond the glint and glitter of the latest influencer. Measure everything against the Truth. Don’t be afraid to stop and think. Consult your conscience. Grow in discernment. And remember that, “the wise are always in order.” Thank you.
Elizabeth Ochoa
11th/12th Lead Teacher
