Online weekly conversations with a fellow Bible study man brought to light the curious tension between self-identity and efforts at righteousness that comes from deeds/doing, not based on simply being. Particularly in USA, and maybe above all among men, there is an equation that weighs one's worth according to (visible) achievement. In other words, to be without use or purpose is to be without worth or value: useless is worthless. Feeling no purpose feels like having no meaning or consequence or point; not mattering. And yet, to the extent that all life is loved by God, it is enough to be; to exist; to occupy space and time in order to be in relationship with others.
On the one hand, there is the idea of "Works salvation," as if one can earn God's love and the redemption paid by Jesus for all nations' sins. "Faith without works" is said to be incomplete or empty; without substance or consequence. On the other hand, there is the idea that God's project will not crumble if one person fails to be righteous or does not accomplish the task held in that person's heart or mind. God can use sorrow, joy, stubborness, and kindness to accomplish all things. The point about actions and Earthly accomplishments is not that God depends on what is produced; nor that those involved need to prove their worth in God's eyes and to each other. Rather, the function of doing things lies in the doing: the process brings people together in the making and, once finished, in the operation of the thing. By enacting God's love a believer can bodily express righteousness; the world of Works completes the teachings and allows those involved to express their love in tangible ways. Christianity is an embodied faith, one lived out, not just reflected on or studied or discussed.
Getting back to the worth of one's life as measured by "doing" compared to assessment of "being," it seems that both dimensions of human experience are important. There is worth in being God's person out in the world. And the grammatical form of ...ing suggests action or process, so that BE+ING suggests a dynamic experience, maybe like treading water: one is in motion and yet a steady state is all that is visible by an outsider. It looks like the person is not moving. And, yet, under the surface of the water the arms and legs are not standing still. Likewise, "being" God's person or "being" a human being sometimes gives the appearance of just sitting there, not doing anything ("don't just do something, be there"). But under the surface, perhaps, there is a lot of activity going on in order to maintain the steady state of being there in dynamic equilibrium.
Although it might seem like a clever sleight of hand, discovering one's worth in "being" rather than by collecting trophies from "doing" great deeds really does seem to be BOTH inaction (just existing; occupying space and time; quietly metabolizing, seeing others and being seen by them) AND also activity that produces a steady state of being. In God's estimation, being and doing are two forms of the same righteous thing, sort of like Einstein's assertion that E=MC squared: matter and energy equal different forms of the same thing. Matter is not destroyed, it just changes from one form to another. Likewise, "being" and "doing" share a common relationship to God's Will. Righteousness comes both from being and from doing.
Even if one could dedicate all waking moments to being in-tune with God's Way, there are outside distractions, obstacles, sleep-cycles, and preoccupations and fascinations that interfere. Instead of striving to be in total thrall with God's abiding presence and Will, perhaps it is more practical to tailor one's form of righteousness and the kind of prayer to the condintions that ebb and flow during the course of a day, indeed during the course of a lifetime. There are so many ways to pray and each one may be suited to different times of one's life: crisis, calm, impatience, joy, sorrow. The biorhythm of one's daily cycles may also make certain forms of reaching out to God better than others: when focus and presence of mind is sharpest then maybe deep communion with God works best to exercise one's heart of love. When senses are dull, then perhaps it is labor and physical forms of spiritual exercise that work best. In between the times of least and greatest focus, maybe an intermediate form of prayer works best: a mixture of visual imagry (non-verbal engagement) with some spoken or written patterns.
All in all, the many forms of being and doing have some worth and as such are a good basis of "worth-ship" (i.e. Worship). Likewise of making prayers: there are many ways, each suited to different frames of mind in one's day or lifecycle. One's heart and body may shift in condition, but what is unchanging is God's Word and the eternal effort needed to seek righteousness that does not stray into sin. Learning to appreciate "just being" in self and in others, rather than to evaluate accomplishments and achievements according to Earthly habits can be a challenge. But it one that is worth the effort to know better one's self and one's God and one's neighbors.
