Beware the Groove...

One of my favorite animated movies is called "The Emperor's New Groove". Its humor is very dry and witty, and while I don't care for David Spade's voice acting, he can't possibly spoil the movie for me. It's a classic.

The movie follows Emperor Kuzco, an arrogant ruler who cares about nothing but himself. He quickly established his self-preoccupation in the opening scene, dancing in the limelight and basking in all praise people give him. In the middle of his dance routine, he accidentally moon walks into an old man, and has him tossed out the window for "throwing off his groove." He is self-absorbed, and is willing to dispose of anyone who gets in his way. (Don't worry, the old man ends up being fine...except for a little psychosis...)
 
I have to admit, there's a groove I try to get into. The one where your heads in the game, and you know how to win. You are aware of what you need to do, and you know exactly how to get it done. You've got the resources, you've got the energy. You're in the groove.

basking in the groove

Recently, it happened to me. I did it. I got into the groove. This semester has proven tough and I was scrambling to stay on top of everything from day one. But last week, I found the groove. I finished my labs early. I knew what was going on. Classmates asked me questions about the material, and I had the answers. I had finally reached it. I knew what I needed to know. I mastered what I needed to do. Everything made sense. People respected me enough to ask me questions. I had arrived. I was in the groove.

There's a high that comes with being in the groove. It's confidence. It's affirmation. It's focus. The world is yours to control. You can make it whatever you want. It's an addictive feeling. It's the groove.

One night, before I went to bed, I was basking in the high of the groove. I started checking off all the areas of life I had down.
+School--check.
+Upcoming assignments--check.
(So far, so good)
+Family commitments--well, it's been a couple weeks since I've seen them.
+Calling my mom--hmm, it's been a while since I talked to my folks too.
+Visiting my older friend Lyman--uh, when was the last time I stopped by to see him?

As I thought through some of my relational commitments, I realized I wasn't as "on-the-ball" as I thought. In my ambition to master the school material being thrown at me, I was leaving out some of the most valuable parts of my life. I felt like I was on my A-game. I had reached "the groove", but I had done it at the expense of my relationships. I felt like Kuzco--so involved with my own world that I simply forget the value of other people. I had the respect of my peers, but I felt lonely.

to groove or not to groove

I took a little time to mull over this predicament. What if I had to choose between being in the groove or cherishing those I love most? Would I be willing to sacrifice the high of the groove to maintain my closest relationships?

I felt like I had to make a choice, and soon. I knew how to maintain my groove, but it would come at the expense of spending time with family and friends. If I chose to invest family and friends, there was no guarantee I could keep the high of the groove.

I chose to let go of the groove. I know it sounds like a no-brainer, but it was not easy. The rush that comes with being on the ball, that's not an easy feeling to give up. But it was better than the alternative: growing distant in the relationships that really matter most.

desires > people
I don't think I'm the only one who struggles with this. What about the man who works hard at his job to provide for his family? He's competing with other guys for a promotion, and he knows the only way to get it is to work long hours or weekends. Should he trade his weekends with his family out for a larger paycheck? Is the respect of his coworkers worth trading the love of his family?

Or what about the wife who tries to keep everything tidy and in order at home, and begins to view her children as the enemy of a clean house? What does she do when it becomes easy for her to snap angrily at her kids? What if one of her little ones tracked through the house wearing dirty shoes to show her a "special" picture he drew for her? How would she respond?

There are a million scenarios of how we let our desires push others around. We want to overcome the curse and make life work for us. And in our path, we often leave a wake of pain and hurt, whether we realize it or not.

It's not so strange to want everything to go your way. On some level, we all want everything to bow to our will. The big dreams. The day-to-day goals. Everything. We all have a sinful inclination to make life work for us at the expense of others.

behind the groove: worship

So what is the answer? How do we fight the groove and its tendency to hurt others? There are probably a ton of little practical answers to this. But it all comes down to worship.

We all worship something, whether or not we're religious. John Calvin said it best: "The human heart is an idol factory...Every one of us from our mother's womb is an expert in inventing idols." He's right. It could be money, power, sensuality, acceptance, belonging, anything really. We are all chasing after something. And if that something is not God, it's harmful. It will hurt someone eventually. And like all sin, it brings death.

The Bible speaks to this issue of dealing with our desires and choosing God. Jesus says in Matthew 16:24: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." The root of it is this: we must reject our desires to make the world work for us so that we can follow God.

You won't want to eat a delicious, satisfying meal if you are gorging on handful after handful of M&M's. You will make yourself sick, spoiling your appetite. Our goal in rejecting our desires is not to look spiritual to other people, or to earn God's favor in our lives. Ultimately, we deny harmful desires so that we can enjoy God himself.  

The groove is really, really tempting. If we can just work hard enough, we can overcome the curse and all of our desires will be fulfilled. This is entirely wrong. The purpose of the curse in Genesis 3--with all of its toil, sweat, pain, and futility--is to make us realize we are not God...that we need God. The idea of reaching a perfect, "groove"-like state is a fantasy that will never come true. At least, not in a way that won't create a tremendous amount of harm.

The hardest thing about being obsessed with the groove is that is creeps in subtly, covertly, slowly. We have to regularly reflect on why we do what we do. We need to be on guard against the groove so that it does not destroy our worship, our relationships, and our lives. 

Life isn't working out for you? Don't deny it. Lean into it--with God. Be broken by the curse, so that God may fill your deepest needs and rebuild you to look more like Christ.

Do not be enticed by the groove. The old man that Kuzco threw out of the window was right.

"Beware the groove."