One of the exercises I have been known to do with high school students in our church is to get them to bring their iPods to our weekly gathering and listen together to the music they have recently been digesting.
The exercise is not to play music that will impress me and the others, but to simply play the song that you have had on repeat this past week.
We pull up a copy of the lyrics from the internet and ask some questions such as:
"What type of story does this song tell? And what kind of story does it tell about what it means to be human?"
Everything tells a story. And it is the stories that are at the centre of our hearts that narrate our lives.
One main storyline in our culture is the centrality of technology. Technology and techniques are meant to be tools, but when these tools are what we centre our lives around then technology narrates our lives. If technology is our god then the things that matter in this narrative of life are efficiency, standardization and speed.
Another main storyline is the economy. If economics is our god and at the heart of our culture's life, then the most important things that drive this narrative are growth, success and self-dependency.
Everything tells a story.
Do these central stories deserve to be at the centre and rule of our lives? Is this what we believe about what it means to be human?
For many religions the belief is that we are part of God's story. And for the Christian religion, we believe that the centre of God's story is Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection to free us from slavery to the curse of sin and death and who redeems us for new life as new creations.
For Christians then, it is God's gift of grace that is at the centre of our hearts, and it is gratitude for this grace that narrates our lives.
This is reflected in the 10 commandments. Though there are 10 commandments, it is best understood as one central command and nine corollaries. The central command is the first command:
I am the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery, therefore you shall have no other gods before me.
So if the Lord is our God is at the centre of our hearts then Sabbath rest for people and creation matters, our use of language matters, life matters, honesty matters, promises matter, neighbours matter.
Technology and economics are useful tools, but unworthy gods for the throne of your heart.
When God's grace sits on the throne of your heart then living holy and graciously is the narrative of your life.
Everything tells a story.
And what a beautiful story that is.
