Reflections on Emerson and Action

Monday night I finished reading the entirety of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "The American Scholar," and, again, I found the transcendentalist's remarks relevant. Emerson writes, "Action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential. Without it, he is not yet man. Without it, thought can never ripen into truth."

I appreciated this balanced approach to scholarship because of the refreshment it gives the student. Too often, we bury ourselves in our books and become mindless, passive imitators of what we read. This lifestyle drains us of our energy and our creativity, and we wonder, "What is the point of all this pedantry? What good does it serve?" Our work seems meaningless as we cram information into our brains, only to regurgitate it in the form of essays and research papers.

Emerson offers an alternative to this intellectual dreariness. By calling the scholar to action, the information suddenly becomes applicable. When we go out into the world armed with our knowledge, intending to making a difference in the lives of our neighbors, our scholarship serves a higher purpose besides the satisfaction of our curiosity.

Messiah College has given me ample opportunities to go out and take action as a scholar, and I feel that this opportunity for community engagement and service makes this a well-balanced learning community. While we certainly engage our minds in the classroom and in our reading, we go out into the world to make a difference, harmonizing our heads with our hands. I had this experience last year when I spent a semester at the Philadelphia Campus. My favorite class that semester was "Urban-Eco Footprints," a course taught by Dr. Timothy Peterson which discussed urban planning and the issues that city dwellers face. Living in North Philadelphia, we came face-to-face with children affected by these very issues as we tutored at Montgomery Townhouses, a low-income housing unit just a few blocks west of Temple University. Meeting these children, helping them with their math homework, and building relationships with Ms. Hattie, the lady in charge of the tutoring program, gave our academic work significance. Our discussions of bureaucracy took on meaning when we confronted a meddlesome organization that disrespected the work of Ms. Hattie and the community, and we engaged our textbooks as we worked to pick up the trash that had accumulated on our block. I wouldn't trade that semester of action for an entire four years of straight book learning.

Emerson's ideas about action also apply to our lives as Christians. Too many of us read the Bible without engaging it, without going out and sharing the Gospel and living according to Jesus' teachings. James tells us, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says . . . But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-- he will be blessed in what he does" (1:22,25). Personally, I repent for the times when I haven't taken action, and it's my heart's desire that the Church would learn to truly follow God's commandments.

I disagree with Emerson over what should be the greatest motivation for our action, however. We should take positive action not merely because we want to become better scholars but because we want to worship Christ and show His love to our neighbors. While developing the mind is certainly praiseworthy, the worship of Christ and the love of His people should be our highest aspirations.