Communitarianism

I love the fact that when you are the writer you can make up words from time to time. I introduced the word communitarianism in my last post, and I wanted to take some time to expand on the idea a little more.

As I stated last, communitarianism is a middle ground between the individualism which drives American society and the unattainable ideals of Communism. Not to mention the fact that Communism leaves little to no room for God. For the communitarian a life goal is to see the community take a place of importance over the importance of the individual. At the same time the uniqueness of the individual must not be lost. The reason the individual must no be lost has nothing to do with the rights and desires of the individual, rather with being created by God. God has made each and every person with intimate knowledge. Part of that creation is strengths and weaknesses. To deny our strengths, and overlook our weaknesses is to deny the work of God in our lives. Likewise to use our strengths for only personal gain, would be to miss the point of community.

At the center of this ideal is a simple math equation. The whole is always greater than the sum of the individual parts. We are not created by God to be alone, we are not created for personal glory. Our creation is to function as a part of a people called our by God. Meaning our primary identity lies with the community of Christ, not the individual. Further this means your uniqueness is intended and needed in the community for the community to be whole. Without you and your participation in the community, whole suffers.

I guess in the end the biggest part of Communitarinism is the fact that this life I have been given is not about me. It is about something so much greater than any one individual. At the same time individuals need to be who God made them to be for the sake of the Body of Christ.