We Need a Cure for Quick Fixism
Why is it that people expect you to fix in minutes what took them days, weeks, months, or years to break? I often find myself initially feeling hopeless about a person’s willingness, or lack thereof, to work on the areas of their life that put them in the position in which they find themselves. I often rhetorically ask, “Why am I doing this?” While if I was on the bus pictured above I’d want out as soon as possible, but I’m pretty sure the events leading up to the bus being in this position may have taken weeks.
I’m not suggesting that the bus crept through the hole in that amount of time. I’m suggesting that the bus driver was preoccupied with a passenger whose child was being a distraction. The passenger, let’s say it’s a single dad, distraught by the recent loss of his wife has been unable to figure out how to help his child behave and is on the way to get some help. The bus driver is at the end of his shift and is looking forward to watching the World Cup at his favorite pub, but he has to get to his last stop on time to make that happen. So, the reason the bus went forward instead of reverse took weeks not moments.
When this happens I must remind myself of a few things:
1. Patience is a piece of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. When I lack it, then I’m forgetting something.
2. I need to be patient with others lack of patience
3. I should not expect others to be patient with their brokenness, especially when the Holy Spirit is absent from their lives. If they don’t know Jesus, then why should I expect them to act like they do?
4. My schedule cannot be determined by the chaos generated in others context.
It took a while for them to find themselves homeless and my immediate response to fix their situation may actually impede my ability to minister to their need for Jesus. Ever wonder why the people Jesus healed had to wait so long for God to finally heal them? Ever wonder about those who got a quick fix from Jesus? Did their lack of misery now lead them away from God instead of toward Him? I wonder if this is what happened to nine of the lepers. While I fully agree that my presence in the world should lead to more justice, mercy, grace, and love I also must recognize that suffering is used by God. So, when one chooses to buy cigarettes and comes up short on rent money maybe the only way to learn not to do it again is point out the choice to smoke over shelter and not provide shelter…at least not immediately.
Seatbelt Communication
Jeff Meyer of The Church passed this video on to Will Mancini, who blogged about it and then tweeted about his blog.
That’s how I came across it. It’s amazing how connected The Church is becoming. It makes me think Jesus will make a visit in my lifetime.
That may be the most compelling video on wearing a seat belt I’ve ever seen, other than the accident scene in Seven Pounds, which also doubles as a deterrent to texting, emailing, tweeting, etc. while behind the wheel.
For all of my creative friends out there see what Will had to say about grabbing attention.
In Church Unique, I cover the integration principle, “Grab attention or hold nothing.” According to studies as reported in the book, The Attention Economy, there are four primary factors for getting attention. I immediate thought of these four things as I watched this video.
Four Keys to Really Get Attention
1. Is the communication personalized?
2. Is the communication coming from a trustworthy source?
3. Is the communication brief?
4. Is the communication emotional?In the case of this video, it is not necessarily personalized, but it does feel very personal. The trustworthiness of the source is carried by the quality production and the “embrace life” message and logo. The brevity and emotion of the piece are stunning.
I agree.
If I could impact as strongly with the gospel in as short an amount of time shouldn’t I be willing to invest in the effort and time to produce such a message? Or does the ego just get in the way?
To be a rung
Watched the movie The Express over the weekend. I highly recommend it. It’s about the 1959 Syracuse University College Football National Champions and more specifically the first ever African American winner of the Heisman Trophy, Ernie Davis aka The Express.
Mr. Davis, following in the footsteps of maybe the best running back to ever play football, Jim Brown, at Syracuse and was also drafted by the Cleveland Browns to share the backfield with Jim Brown yet he was never to play a single down for this NFL franchise. Ernie Davis was diagnosed with Leukemia and died at the age of 23.
Many would look at Mr. Davis’ life only to be saddened by the unrealized potential, and the seemingly unfairness of contracting a deadly disease at such a young age. Yet, what I was struck by as I watched the extras was that this kid left a tremendous impact on the lives left in his wake. Even Jim Brown, known for his cockiness, held a reverence for the friendship he had with this young man. Floyd Little, appearing with other Hall of Fame nominees (watch the video at the end of the link as Mr. Little is introduced – a tremendous man) at the Super Bowl coin toss, still becomes emotional when he recounts the words that he exchanged with Ernie when Ernie recruited him as his replacement at Syracuse.
Last week I posted a post by Mark Batterson asking if this could be the day that Jesus returns. Today I’m asking what if it is the last day you are around? Who is left in your wake? Who is testifying in ten years about your goodness? Who becomes a Hall of Famer by standing on your back?
Here’s the question for me, “Am I willing to be a rung in the ladder to let others climb higher?” I think Ernie’s greatest testimony is that he was, and because of that I think he was great.