Protect precious rooms

The Bible describes how Jesus drives all the merchants out of the temple in one day: „He saw many merchants in the temple selling oxen, sheep and doves as sacrificial animals. Moneychangers were also sitting behind their tables, and Jesus made a whip out of rope and chased the merchants out of the temple with all their sheep and oxen.“ From the Gospel of John chapter 2

Quite radical, with physical violence and drastic words. One of the toughest stories in the New Testament. The behaviour is unusually intense and violent. Nowhere else in the Bible is it mentioned that Jesus took physical action against people. Why is he so violent?

That's really tough! What is „good news“ about that?" you might ask. During a conversation about this text, an interesting thought occurred to me. Jesus has nothing against trade. In the Old Testament, God clearly allows people who are unable to bring their own sacrificial animals to the temple because of the distance, to buy them locally and then sacrifice them. Jesus is not against trade. But he does have something against trade in this place.

Why? Jesus knows that we humans Rooms need. FreeSpaces. For example, the space to encounter God. If this space is filled with all kinds of things, then it becomes more difficult, almost impossible, to orientate the soul towards God.

We humans need different spaces: Space for silence and prayer. Space for encounters. Space for tenderness and intimacy. Space for joy and play. Space for concentrated work. These can be physical spaces that are specifically designed for this purpose: A chapel, a bedroom, a squash court.

But we can also create space for ourselves by definition. For example: „This is our playtime.“ Or: „Now is the time to talk.“ „I want to concentrate on this project now.“ Or „Let's use this evening for a deep encounter.“

Precious rooms need to be protected

As a rule, other things always crowd into the free spaces. Clogging them up. The quiet room is suddenly filled with all kinds of stuff. Papers on the desk or inboxes on the computer distract you from concentrating on your work. The tax return still needs to be done or the laundry ironed, or... Suddenly there is no more time - or no more space in your head - for relaxed togetherness.

I read about a couple who argued in every room of the flat. When they argued and one left, the other ran after them. So that all the rooms were filled with arguments. Eventually they came to an agreement. „Arguing is normal. It shows that we see and experience things differently and have not yet found an agreement. But we don't want the arguments to spread everywhere. We only argue on the bench in the corridor.“ When an argument arises, they go there, argue thoroughly until they are finished. And then it's good. Free space to argue.

Ultimately, the whole swing concept is a concept for protecting spaces. Years ago, I realised that for life to be good and balanced, we as individuals, couples, teams and groups need eight essential elements: creativity, order, meaning (being able to contribute something), highlights, sources of energy, relationships, times for reflection and peace and quiet. If any of these are missing, life atrophies.

When I do swing seminars or coach people on the topic of life in balance, it's ultimately always about: How can I protect these spaces? How can I make sure that all the other things that „you“ should be doing don't overwhelm the living space?. Perhaps we should learn to expel things from spaces where they don't belong with the same radicalism that Jesus did. Protect precious free spaces with physical effort if necessary.

Ultimately, the ship is also about space. It should be a place where people Find free space to think about themselves and their lives, their relationship with each other and with God. A very real space with walls. And a temporal, protected, accompanied free space that helps to create inner space.

Incidentally, the first step on the ship was to tidy up. There were still various objects and building materials everywhere in the vestibule.m previous owner around. You could hardly walk through it. Everything has now been cleared to the side. Now there's space. Space to work, to redesign. Free space.