Billy Coffey
Billy Coffey

The tribe

May 11, 2010  

image courtesy of photobucket.com

image courtesy of photobucket.com

I can’t remember the name of the tribe, which is mildly ironic given the nature of their story. And it’s quite a story. 

It amazes me that regardless of how smart we are and how much we can do, we still know so little about the world. Only 2 percent of the ocean floor has been explored. Species thought long extinct still turn up every once in a while. And just last year, scientists stumbled upon a valley in New Guinea that had gone untouched by man since the dawn of time. There were plants and insects never seen before. And the animals never bothered hiding or running from the explorers. They didn’t have the experience to tell them humans were a potential threat. 

But of course it’s not just plants and animals and hidden valleys that are being discovered. People are, too. And that can lead to all sorts of things. 

Take, for instance, the tribe I mentioned above. 

They were discovered in 1943 in one of the remotest parts of the Amazon jungle. Contact was carefully arranged. Easy at first, nothing too rash. That seems to be rule number one in those situations—don’t overwhelm the tribe.  

It didn’t work. Here’s why. 

The difference between these particular people and the others that pop up every few years was that their uniqueness was foundational to their belief system. They’d been so cut off from civilization for so long that they were convinced they were the only humans in the world. No one outside of their small tribe existed. And they liked that idea. 

Finding out that not only were there other people in the world, there were billions of them, was too much. The trauma of learning they were not unique was so debilitating that the entire tribe almost died out. Even now, sixty-seven years later, only a few remain. 

Sad, isn’t it? 

I’ll admit the temptation was there for me to think of that tribe as backward and primitive for thinking such a thing. But then I realized they weren’t. When you get right down to it, their beliefs and the truth they couldn’t carry made them more human than a lot of people I know. 

Because we all want to be unique. 

We all want to think we’re special, needed by God and man for some purpose that will outlast us. We want to be known and remembered. We all know on a certain level that we will pass this way but once, and so we want whatever time we have in this world to matter. 

That’s not a primitive notion. That’s a universal one. 

I think at some point we’re all like members of that tribe. We have notions of greatness, of doing at most the impossible and at least the improbable. Of blazing a new trail for others to follow. It’s a fire that burns and propels our lives forward. 

I will make a difference, we say. People will know I was here. 

But then we have a moment like that tribe had, when we realize there are a lot of other people out there who are more talented and just as hungry. People who seem to catch the breaks we don’t and have the success that eludes us. And that notion that we were different and special fades as we’re pulled into the crowd of humanity and told to take our rightful place among the masses. 

It’s tough, hanging on to a dream. Tough having to talk yourself into holding the course rather than turning back. Tough having to summon faith amidst all the doubt.  

But I know this: 

That tribe was right. 

We are all unique. 

We are all here for a purpose, and it’s a holy purpose. One that cannot be fulfilled by anyone else and depends upon us. 

We are more than flesh and blood. More than DNA and RNA and genes and neurons. And this world is more than air and water and earth. Whether we know it or not, whether we accept it or not, our hearts are a battleground between the two opposing forces of light and dark. 

One side claims we are extraordinary. The other claims we’re common. 

It’s up to us to decide the victor.

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  • http://topsy.com/trackback?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2&url=http://www.billycoffey.com/2010/05/the-tribe/ Tweets that mention The tribe : Billy Coffey — Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kathy Richards and Duane Scott, Sarah Salter. Sarah Salter said: RT @katdish: New post by @billycoffey: The Tribe http://bit.ly/cOQ0xb [...]

  • http://joyce-fromthissideofthepond.blogspot.com joyce

    For me the challenge is to define my purpose the way God does and not the way the world does. I think He sees greatness in ways that the world does not. He sees the big picture and we only see in part…things we do and contribute that seem small in the eyes of the world may play a huge part in His big picture. I’m thankful He knows my name and every hair on my head. That thought awes me on a regular basis.

    Loved this post as always!

  • http://www.moonboatcafe.com Cassandra Frear

    It’s the longing for significance that makes us want to be unique. God has a plan to meet that — it’s met in a relationship with him where we know he created each one of us and has a plan for our lives. We are part of something much bigger than we imagine.

    We are made for glory. But when we try to create a glory for ourselves apart from our Creator, our hunger for it turns destructive. God knows this. He knows our hunger and our propensity to craft a life for ourselves on our own. The word “glory” appears 342 times in the Bible. The topic, our hunger, and his provision are all out on the table for discussion.

    We need glory. We crave it. But in that craving we find the one who is glory and who will be our glory. As we are part of him and his kingdom, he will be all that we need.

    “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head”. Ps. 3:3

  • http://verymuchlater.com/ Jake

    That was a much-needed pep-talk. Wonderful example, Billy!!!

  • Ralene

    Great post, Billy. Very inspiring…I have all kinds of great story ideas running through my head now. lol…

  • http://flametoad.com/2010/importance/ Flametoad » Blog Archive » Importance

    [...] still just a tiny motion in the great clockwork of humanity. Even so, when Billy Coffy writes about The Tribe, he reminds us that we’re all important. AKPC_IDS += "1259,";Popularity: unranked [?] Filed [...]

  • http://www.maryaalgaard.blogspot.com mary aalgaard

    Interesting and thoughtful post. I have a sign: Why try so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out.

  • http://togetherforgood.wordpress.com Erin

    And once again, you read my mind and write to me. It’s kind of creepy, Billy, seriously. :)

  • http://dutchhillnews.blogspot.com Annie McMahon

    Your blog is definitely unique and special, one of the few I read on a regular basis. So the light side wins, in this case. LOL

  • http://www.kellylangnersauer.com/ Kelly Langner Sauer

    I remember the day it first struck me that my story wasn’t about “the one girl” who would do anything for God, but about “the One God” who was I Am. It changed my life. And while I still fight jealousy and desire originality and dreams that are just my own, I have learned so much about what He is doing in all of us to make us one in Him. Amazing, isn’t it, that the only resolution for our desire for uniqueness is to be found in His individual love for us, that Christ died for me, and for you and for her and for him and He seeks us and loves us where we are…

  • http://melissabrotherton.com Melissa Brotherton

    This is exactly what I have been needing to hear lately! What a great perspective you present. Thank you for offering it. :)

  • http://heatheragoodman.com Heather

    So does this have anything to do with your upcoming reunion? ;)

  • http://www.asgoodadayasany.wordpress.com Marilyn Yocum

    Thanks for the great post (again), Billy!

  • http://www.taterhouse.blogspot.com Ryan Tate

    I love this common vs. extraordinay stuff Billy. I have been reading some stuff this week on the topic of “ordinary” and glad you wrote this for today. I’ve found that the perfection of God (unique, creative, extraordinary) is cast in a material which people almost despise, which we don’t consider worth our interest or searching for becasue it is common to all of us. We all share the image of God which is abundantly extraordinary. So, that which is common about us all is that which makes us all extraordinary. Upon realizing that, there can be no ordinary moments for people who choose to live with the extraordinary.

  • http://blog.breakthroughalaska.com jasonS

    When you explained what happened to the tribe, I thought of how some churches believe that they are the only ones following God and that He will only bless them. It’s devastating when they learn that others have an impact and even a greater reach. It causes them to either shut down and build walls, write off everyone else’s victory (which only lasts so long), or understand that we are unique but not alone. The gospel is being preached, lives are being changed, miracles of all sorts are happening every day. We are the body of Christ, a vivid, diverse, and robust body of believers…

    Thanks for a great post and for making me think today. :)

  • http://godsheart-heart2heart.blogspot.com Kat

    Billy,

    How amazing it is to discover that there are still new discoveries just waiting for us to find them. I think you hit on two amazing points. One is that we find something new and thus the excitement begins to unlock and reveal everything there is to know about the latest discovery and 2 in the process we lose something. We take away from them the very thing that made them unique in the process.

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

  • http://building-his-body.blogspot.com/ Anne Lang Bundy

    The man who wrote this post has earned his place among the masses, and has proven himself uniquely qualified to fulfill the high purpose to which he was called.

    Wonderful, wonderful post, Billy. Beautiful follow-up Cassandra.

  • http://aspiretoleadaquietlife.blogspot.com A Simple Country Girl

    Isn’t it okay to be common, but to live in and shine the light of our extraordinary loving & forgiving & merciful God? If we make His compassion commonplace, then the extraordinary in man won’t mean so much…

    Thank you for the lessons, they always stir up the pancake batter of life.

    Blessings.

  • http://lauraboggess.blogspot.com laura

    I love the implications here about discovering people. Not just lost tribes, mind you, but the guy next door. Do we really believe that each individual is an image-bearer? And do we treat them as such? Great food for thought here, Billy. Makes me want to ask my neighbor over for tea.

  • http://www.ordinarilyextraordinary.com/ Amy N.

    Such great thoughts here Billy. The one thing I have to remind myself in the busy-ness of life is to slow down and remember that each person is extraordinary, that each life is extraordinary even though the ordinary can overwhelm at times. To me, it’s a choice. We each have the ability to view life as one or the other. Thanks for these thoughts.