“This is the Porcupine’s Dilemma: How do you get close without getting hurt? This is our dilemma too. Each of us carries our own little arsenal [of barbs]. . . . And, of course, we can usually think of a number of particularly prickly porcupines in our lives. But the problem is not just them. I’m somebody’s porcupine. So are you.”- John Ortberg
John Ortberg concludes Chapter 1 of Everybody’s Normal . . . with some facts about the North American Common Porcupine. A member of the rodent family, it has around 30,000 quills attached to its body. When a porcupine drives a quill into an enemy, the enemy’s body heat expands the microscopic barb. As a result, the barb embeds more fully.
Furthermore, people rarely regard the porcupine as a lovable animal. In fact, the Latin name means irritable back. And, John quips, they all come with one. In general, porcupines employ two methods to handle relationships” withdrawal and attack. Solitary creatures, their fear and anger make them difficult to be around.
In addition, Dallas Willard one described withdrawal and attack as two forms of relational sin. Therefore, Pastor Ortberg explains:
“We assault others when we act against what is good for them. . . . We withdraw from someone when we regard their well-being as a matter of indifference to us. Attack and withdrawal are practiced by every human being on earth. . . . At root they are two expressions of the one great sin, which is a lack of love, the violation of the one great commandment. . . .
When we feel threatened, we want to hurt others or hide from them. We, too, head for a tree or stick out our quills. But there is a better way.”
In conclusion, John stresses, he wrote this book to help imperfect people pursue community with other imperfect people. And, each of us needs to start with the actual porcupines in our life. Thus, God tasks us with creating little islands of shalom in a sea of isolation. So, John exhorts, pull in your quills and start dancing.
Today’s question: How do you deal with the particularly prickly porcupines in your life? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Achieving must honor community”