As I picked my new name, I had to ask myself what does it mean to live wilder. There’s a lot of incorrect definitions of wild living. When I say “live Wilder,” I don’t mean reckless living or a ruthless personality. It doesn’t mean selfishly getting what you want regardless of rules or how it affects others. In fact, I’d argue this defines tame living. Let me explain.
Living Tame
To live wild means to live and operate off a code different from humanity. Despite our best efforts, humanity can’t control wild animals, nor can we predict what they will do. In many ways, we can’t even understand them. So, to live wild would be to live against the norm of human society.
Our society says life is about getting what you want, doing what you want, and living a plush, comfortable, and safe life. We’ve learned to consume and focus on ourselves as if we are gods. Living according to the way society operates would be to only focus on yourself and only do what benefits you.
It may sound good, but our rapidly growing suicide rates say otherwise.
Is There A Different Way To Live?
This other way of living I’m about to propose is not new. It may be old, and it may be radical, but it is exactly what our society needs right now. In many ways, it doesn’t make sense, but that’s because it’s hard for us to learn a new way of living when we’ve been taught all our lives to be tame.
What if instead of living for ourselves we lived for others? I’m not just talking forty hours a week or just when it’s convenient. Living this way would only be caring about others when it suits us. This is tame living in disguise.
Live Wilder
What I mean by living wilder is being on watch for opportunities 100% of the time. Giving money away to those who have needs. Spending time helping those who need help. And—this is where things get really wild—being willing to sacrifice our lives to save anyone, regardless of who they are, how they’ve treated us, and how much they deserve it.
The only problem is that we can’t do this. We humans don’t possess enough love within us to be able to care for others to this extent.
As I write this I feel convicted that I’m being a hypocrite because I am so far from truly living this out. This is why we need God. God is love (1 John). And only through faith in Jesus and his death on the cross and resurrection as the only means to be forgiven from all that we’ve done wrong, can we be saved from our sins.
But it doesn’t end there. We aren’t just talking about a selfish escape-from-hell-to-a-luxurious-paradise-in-heaven plan. God’s plan is to redeem all of humanity and save them from the sinful and evil Earth that we’ve plagued like parasites. Yes, he wants to save you from yourself, but he also wants to use you to save others.
Your faith is not just about yourself. Now that your eternity in heaven is secured through faith in Jesus, you have nothing to lose.
Yes, love your life, but hold it with an open hand, willing to give it up if needs be to save another.
The Definition of Living Wilder
In a nutshell, living wilder means to reject what society says about caring only for yourself. It means caring for yourself when necessary, then using your personal health to love others in every moment. An unhealthy person can’t help others very well.
We help others by caring for their financial, physical, and emotional needs. We also must help others by caring for their souls. No matter where or who they are, they have a desperate need for an intimate relationship with their creator through Christ.
This even extends to the point of being willing to sacrifice our short lives here on earth for the sake of saving others and giving them a chance to respond to the good news of the gospel.
I have a hard time with all of this too, but hopefully we can work together to get closer to this.
How have you learned to live Wilder? Please share your challenging thoughts and suggestions so we can all grow.
If you’d like to hear how I came to pick this name, check out my blog The Making of Philip Wilder
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