The Case for Being an Idealist

I've written about being an idealist on this blog before because it fascinates me and because it's described me pretty accurately for most of my life. And yet, there's always been a question in the back of my mind wondering if it was something I would one day outgrow. If, tempered by reality and the responsibilities of adult life, I would one day adopt a more realistic outlook, and stop believing that our lives can somehow be pure and good, and about more than our own little world and dreams.

But you know what? The more I go through life, the more I see the value of being an idealist. I should clarify, I'm not talking about being naïve, as idealism can sometimes be misunderstood to be. I'm talking about being an idealist as having the belief that things can be better than they are. I'm talking about striving toward something bigger than ourselves, and not bending to the definition this world has for "maturity" because it's usually nothing more than outward things - a full time job, a routine, money in the bank and a stable, ten-year plan (all good things, but nowhere near all that matters).

This is one of the definitions I found for an idealist:

An idealist is someone who envisions an ideal world rather than the real one.

When I study what it means to follow Jesus in this life, it looks an awful lot like that definition. To believe that there is more to the "real world" that we see around us? That's what following Jesus is about, and so according to the world, it makes us idealistic. To believe that good will triumph over evil in the end? That's idealism. To believe that our lives should be more about what we do for others than how we strive to get ahead? Idealism. To know that we don't have to push and fight out way to the top because God will get us where we're meant to be? That's wild idealism. And yet it's all one hundred percent true.

Following Jesus will make you an idealist is because idealism is about believing in perfection. And yet there's no such thing as perfection here on earth, is there? That's why idealism is often dismissed and labeled as naïvety. But the thing is, perfection does exist. And it is found fully in Jesus. There is someone who is perfectly good and kind and just and gracious. Someone who meets all the ideals we desire but are too skeptical to hope for.

If that's the case, perhaps being an idealist isn't such an unfounded perspective after all.

#life