“Because I love you…”
I am learning not to spend so much of my time asking the “why” questions of life. Since many of my questions are posed as a mask to my distrust of God, the answers are not likely the most important ones to ask. So many times, I put the question up as a guard to my heart, making an ultimatum that feels impossible to fulfill. But God can do the impossible.
As I spend more of my life getting to know the “who” of God, the One who knows the answers to all my “why’s,” I begin to believe that He will tell me what I need to know in due time. My mask of questions fall away to reveal the true nature of my heart, and I am free to accept His healing of my pride, fear, and self-righteousness.
In this journey of relationship, new questions spring out from my bond with Him through our many experiences together. He knows my true and intimate story. As He and I write the story of my life day by day, I learn more and more of Him. No longer is my relationship based on the satisfactory answers to my questions, but on His love. Trust is not natural for me, but I can feel it growing.
For so long I have asked these “why” questions, and resigned myself to “putting them on a shelf,” as my mom always described it. I never understood why God, who knows all things, would not just give me the answers and settle my heart. But recently there is an answer that keeps ringing in my heart, quiet and steady. It is, “Because I love you.” My mind asks, “but why—“ and I hear “because I love you.”
It may not be the answer for which I am looking. At times, I may feel anger at this seemingly unfair answer. But the answer remains “because I love you.”
A parent does not always answer a child in the way that she wants. His love for her is not in question, nor is His ability to know. God loves me. God knows the reasons for all things. He also knows what and when I should learn. So as He and I write our story together, I will accept the answers He gives to the questions He chooses.
Jesus, help me not to base my relationship with you on the answers to my questions. Instead, let my questions spring out from my bond with You as my Savior.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Living in Liminality
Our worldview is shaped in part by our language, which is shaped by the worldview of its speakers. We are trained from early on to see things in the positive, the foreground, and the defined. But then, the world is not as clear-cut in practice as it is in our language. There is this time of liminality permeating our lives, filling in the cracks between the moments we strive for.
We are so focused away from these moments between things, that the word we have to describe it is not commonly used.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
lim•i•nal•i•ty
noun Anthropology.
the transitional period or phase of a rite of passage, during which the participant lacks social status or rank, remains anonymous, shows obedience and humility, and follows prescribed forms of conduct, dress, etc.
________________________________________
[Origin: < L līmin- (s. of līmen) threshold + -AL1 + -ITY ]
Wikipedia uses the example of graduation to describe liminality. “A period during which one is ‘betwixt and between’, ‘neither here nor there’. When the ceremony is in progress, the participants are no longer students but neither are they yet graduates. This is the distinctive character of liminality."
Children live in a perpetual state of liminality. Constantly changing, they barely finish one stage when they transition into the next. We all have witnessed how quickly those awkward toddler steps blend into the junior high years and suddenly it feels as if that small child is in that liminal moment of graduation. As joyful as it is, this process is deeply disturbing to us. It goes against our need to be somewhere.
Most children I know are most uncomfortable between 4-6pm...the time between day and night. Even as infants they fuss as the sun begins to set. Whether they are responding to the discomfort of the adults in the house, or are already forming a worldview that is uncomfortable with liminality (or both), I don't know. In any case, I have many times wished for the time to pass more quickly.
We are taught in art classes to not only look to the foreground, but to purposefully look for the negative space. By training our eye to see the space around something, we actually see the object better. I find it humorous that we call it “negative” space. It shows how deep down it disturbs us. Once we train our eyes to see it, we begin to see the space around everything. In the same way, once we begin to think about liminality, we begin to see it as a constant presence in our lives.
A good family friend always had a framed picture of spots on her wall. She insisted that it was a picture of Jesus, but no matter how much I tried, all I saw was spots. Then, suddenly one day, there He was! Like the picture of spots that suddenly changes into the face of Christ, we can never see the picture of our world the same again.
Liminality is everywhere. Once we are trained to see it, we see it in every moment of our lives. Watching the second hand on a clock, there is a moment when we almost hold our breath, waiting for the hand to tick once again. It is in that moment that we experience liminality. If we're not careful, we might miss it. Focusing on the moment the hand ticks gives us a sense of accomplishment. In a flash, that moment in between vanishes, and we live our lives missing the beauty of the liminal...rushing from one tick in life to the next.
Growth and change are processes, and bring us through countless liminal moments. Work is full of liminality. And it makes us uncomfortable. We crave those moments of being in the middle of something defined. We complain about all the "wasted time" in our lives. Grocery store lines, the time between jobs, that moment when the call is being connected, even the moment when the cookies aren’t quite done or the laundry not quite dry are all moments between defined categories.
The power of learning to live with liminality is that it brings a deeper sense of process to what we do. Our minds are more comfortable with something that has a name, and we can label the in between as liminal. We begin to see it not as the enemy to progress, but as a necessary ingredient to what we’re trying to accomplish. Just as a painting is more beautiful when the negative space is well-thought; living times of liminality well helps us begin to see a depth and beauty in our lives we might not have before. God works in the whole picture of our lives, not just the foreground. What a gift to find that we can allow God to work in the liminal parts of our lives too.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liminality
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liminality
We are so focused away from these moments between things, that the word we have to describe it is not commonly used.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
lim•i•nal•i•ty
noun Anthropology.
the transitional period or phase of a rite of passage, during which the participant lacks social status or rank, remains anonymous, shows obedience and humility, and follows prescribed forms of conduct, dress, etc.
________________________________________
[Origin: < L līmin- (s. of līmen) threshold + -AL1 + -ITY ]
Wikipedia uses the example of graduation to describe liminality. “A period during which one is ‘betwixt and between’, ‘neither here nor there’. When the ceremony is in progress, the participants are no longer students but neither are they yet graduates. This is the distinctive character of liminality."
Children live in a perpetual state of liminality. Constantly changing, they barely finish one stage when they transition into the next. We all have witnessed how quickly those awkward toddler steps blend into the junior high years and suddenly it feels as if that small child is in that liminal moment of graduation. As joyful as it is, this process is deeply disturbing to us. It goes against our need to be somewhere.
Most children I know are most uncomfortable between 4-6pm...the time between day and night. Even as infants they fuss as the sun begins to set. Whether they are responding to the discomfort of the adults in the house, or are already forming a worldview that is uncomfortable with liminality (or both), I don't know. In any case, I have many times wished for the time to pass more quickly.
We are taught in art classes to not only look to the foreground, but to purposefully look for the negative space. By training our eye to see the space around something, we actually see the object better. I find it humorous that we call it “negative” space. It shows how deep down it disturbs us. Once we train our eyes to see it, we begin to see the space around everything. In the same way, once we begin to think about liminality, we begin to see it as a constant presence in our lives.
A good family friend always had a framed picture of spots on her wall. She insisted that it was a picture of Jesus, but no matter how much I tried, all I saw was spots. Then, suddenly one day, there He was! Like the picture of spots that suddenly changes into the face of Christ, we can never see the picture of our world the same again.
Liminality is everywhere. Once we are trained to see it, we see it in every moment of our lives. Watching the second hand on a clock, there is a moment when we almost hold our breath, waiting for the hand to tick once again. It is in that moment that we experience liminality. If we're not careful, we might miss it. Focusing on the moment the hand ticks gives us a sense of accomplishment. In a flash, that moment in between vanishes, and we live our lives missing the beauty of the liminal...rushing from one tick in life to the next.
Growth and change are processes, and bring us through countless liminal moments. Work is full of liminality. And it makes us uncomfortable. We crave those moments of being in the middle of something defined. We complain about all the "wasted time" in our lives. Grocery store lines, the time between jobs, that moment when the call is being connected, even the moment when the cookies aren’t quite done or the laundry not quite dry are all moments between defined categories.
The power of learning to live with liminality is that it brings a deeper sense of process to what we do. Our minds are more comfortable with something that has a name, and we can label the in between as liminal. We begin to see it not as the enemy to progress, but as a necessary ingredient to what we’re trying to accomplish. Just as a painting is more beautiful when the negative space is well-thought; living times of liminality well helps us begin to see a depth and beauty in our lives we might not have before. God works in the whole picture of our lives, not just the foreground. What a gift to find that we can allow God to work in the liminal parts of our lives too.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liminality
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liminality
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Gift of 35 Years
Late bloomer describes my development—not just in how I grew in stature, but in how I’ve developed on all levels. Many people may be further down life’s road this many birthday’s into the journey, but God put me together to meander, not to sprint. So, at the risk of revealing just how long its taken me to grow up, I want to describe what God’s birthday gift of 35 years means to me.Freedom. God has given me a deep sense of belonging. My identity is no longer in making others happy. I can love other people, not to fulfill my need to be loved and accepted, but because I genuinely love and care for them. This freedom is helping me become more and more honest with myself and others, and it feels good!
Beauty. God has made me unique and lovely. I am more beautiful than ever. Though I may leave youth behind, I have learned to give myself more space and be more forgiving of my weaknesses. I don’t try to measure up to what other people think is beautiful, but have learned to appreciate the unique way God put me together. This is helping me be more confident, which is an attractive quality I didn’t have when I was younger.
Trust. I have experienced God’s character. I have seen God work in my life, and am confident He will continue in the future. He has loved me, and I trust He will continue to love me always.
Contentment. God has always provided my outward and inward needs. When I allow him to take care of me, he always does, and this gives me a deep sense of contentment. I do not have to grasp or strive for things, because I know his provision is deep and wide and ever-expansive.
Peace. God has always covered me with his wings (Psalm 91). There have been difficult things outside his strong and downy protection, but he was always sufficient. For me, this is the gift of peace in the sun and storms.
Joy. When emotions cast their shadow, the light of joy still shines beneath. I have joy in the freedom of belonging; joy in the beauty of creation; joy in the trustworthiness of our Creator; joy and contentment in provision; joy to have peace in any weather; joy in the longing and hope for what is to come.
Thankfulness. All of this makes me deeply thankful. I think this is why I have the wonderful joy of looking forward to my birthday each January. No matter what happens, or what I do on my special day, God gives me a deep sense of thankfulness and love. He made me and chose to put me on this earth at this exact time in history. I can’t help but smile thinking about it.
Longing. Looking back makes me look forward, and I long for what is to come. It’s not only the anticipation for more time on this great earth, but for what comes after. If the fallen state of this planet still holds so much beauty and good, what must the perfection of heaven be like?
Hope. Walking through this life, and the challenges, with God’s provision, gives me hope for the next phase of life, and the next and the next. The familiar fear that used to paralyze me at each life change and challenge is fading, and is being replaced by hope in God’s character.
I still have a long way to go, but looking back and seeing how much I’ve grown is encouraging. Like a child standing tall with his back to the wall, marking his height with a pencil, I feel proud to see the graphite mark this year, tracking my growth. And with the blowing out of the candles, I open these gifts from God: freedom, beauty, trust, contentment, peace, joy, thankfulness, longing, and hope.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Is Marketing Manipulation or Good Communication?
It's easy to package things together and not be able to separate them. In my house, Fridays go with pizza, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Pizza can exist without Friday and the reverse, but it's hard to imagine.
This is the danger with stereotypes. Not all characteristics fit all the people. The same dilemma exists with values and behaviors. If we hold a certain value, we tend to lump behaviors, style and all sorts of things when we think about following that value. But things change over time, and every once in awhile, we need to do a little reorganizing. Something that was useful at one time, may no longer serve a purpose. Realizing this can free us to separate motive with style.
This principle can be applied to communication. Many may disagree, but there is no neutral communication. Communication comes out of the hearts of people. It is the world interpreted through people and re-sent out, then assimilated through another individual. Emotions, thought, experience all go into the sending and receiving. So it is important for Christians to constantly be aware of their heart when communicating. I think we see this message in Proverbs 10:19.
"When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise." (NIV)
To stop and think is wise. But at the same time, there are places in the scripture that call us to speak. So, the goal isn’t to be quiet always, just to speak what and when we should.
Psalm 37:30 says, "The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just." (NIV)
In Christian work, we tend to lump the need to “market” in missions and churches with guilt over materialism and other values we try to avoid. Marketing communications has so changed our way of giving and receiving information, that the two should no longer be tied together. People have a hard time receiving a message if it is not packaged in a way they have been trained to receive it.
While it is good for a church or mission to commit to the principles of non-manipulation and trusting God, it is not accurate to assume that any communication that smells of marketing would taint that commitment. To do so is a decision to not communicate effectively—especially to those who do not know a time where messages were not packaged. We need to think through ways that we can connect with people to communicate our needs while still trusting God.
It isn’t easy to communicate with a pure heart when the world has trained us all to receive messages in the style of sales and marketing, but it isn’t wise to stop communicating because we do not like how our culture and language have changed.
This is the danger with stereotypes. Not all characteristics fit all the people. The same dilemma exists with values and behaviors. If we hold a certain value, we tend to lump behaviors, style and all sorts of things when we think about following that value. But things change over time, and every once in awhile, we need to do a little reorganizing. Something that was useful at one time, may no longer serve a purpose. Realizing this can free us to separate motive with style.
This principle can be applied to communication. Many may disagree, but there is no neutral communication. Communication comes out of the hearts of people. It is the world interpreted through people and re-sent out, then assimilated through another individual. Emotions, thought, experience all go into the sending and receiving. So it is important for Christians to constantly be aware of their heart when communicating. I think we see this message in Proverbs 10:19.
"When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise." (NIV)
To stop and think is wise. But at the same time, there are places in the scripture that call us to speak. So, the goal isn’t to be quiet always, just to speak what and when we should.
Psalm 37:30 says, "The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just." (NIV)
In Christian work, we tend to lump the need to “market” in missions and churches with guilt over materialism and other values we try to avoid. Marketing communications has so changed our way of giving and receiving information, that the two should no longer be tied together. People have a hard time receiving a message if it is not packaged in a way they have been trained to receive it.
While it is good for a church or mission to commit to the principles of non-manipulation and trusting God, it is not accurate to assume that any communication that smells of marketing would taint that commitment. To do so is a decision to not communicate effectively—especially to those who do not know a time where messages were not packaged. We need to think through ways that we can connect with people to communicate our needs while still trusting God.
It isn’t easy to communicate with a pure heart when the world has trained us all to receive messages in the style of sales and marketing, but it isn’t wise to stop communicating because we do not like how our culture and language have changed.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Precipice
Standing on the Precipice
I teeter
My head floating up
I catch my footing
As red pebbles slip
Sailing down, down
Like a dream
To the bottom
From which I climbed
I feel drawn into the canyon
My body dizzy and weak
I want to relax and fall
With the pebbles
It’s easier than pulling away
Fighting the cold zing of wind
Drying the sweat on my spine
And calling me below
Hair whipping my face
I look up to see streams of light
Piercing clouds heavy with liquid
Grey and blue against an orange sky
It’s been a long day climbing since dawn
I breathe cold air into my lungs
Muscles aching, I could not have climbed anymore
Could not fight the rocky canyon
I look horrified at the depths from which I came
Suddenly, a steady wind blows up
A warm breath washing over me
Sustaining wind
I know I will not fall.
I teeter
My head floating up
I catch my footing
As red pebbles slip
Sailing down, down
Like a dream
To the bottom
From which I climbed
I feel drawn into the canyon
My body dizzy and weak
I want to relax and fall
With the pebbles
It’s easier than pulling away
Fighting the cold zing of wind
Drying the sweat on my spine
And calling me below
Hair whipping my face
I look up to see streams of light
Piercing clouds heavy with liquid
Grey and blue against an orange sky
It’s been a long day climbing since dawn
I breathe cold air into my lungs
Muscles aching, I could not have climbed anymore
Could not fight the rocky canyon
I look horrified at the depths from which I came
Suddenly, a steady wind blows up
A warm breath washing over me
Sustaining wind
I know I will not fall.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Mommy Marketing
Mommy Marketing
We are strong proponents of Mommy Marketing in our home. My kids need a “master of the obvious” to state the wonderful truths of mom’s virtues on a regular basis. When they ask for juice and I give it to them, I like to say every once in a while, “There you go, here’s your juice. Don’t you have the most wonderful Mommy in the world? She must really love you to give you that juice!” This probably fits within the need for parents to help kids draw the categories of their world.
As an adult, we feel like only unsolicited compliments matter; that if we fish for them, we have somehow nullified their validity. But my kids, and I suspect many kids, weren’t born knowing how to share their love verbally with others. In fact, sometimes I think that developmental stage where babies do not distinguish between themselves and their mother lingers on long into childhood. Mom has always been there and it is impossible to imagine life without her. She always gets my juice, reminds me to pick up my toys, gives me a bath, etc. So, expecting gratitude without pointing out the fact that mom exists is unrealistic.
So, we market mommy around here, hoping to teach our kids how to feel and show gratitude, love and appreciation, not to mention boosting Mom’s mood which seems to help the rest of the family tremendously!
We are strong proponents of Mommy Marketing in our home. My kids need a “master of the obvious” to state the wonderful truths of mom’s virtues on a regular basis. When they ask for juice and I give it to them, I like to say every once in a while, “There you go, here’s your juice. Don’t you have the most wonderful Mommy in the world? She must really love you to give you that juice!” This probably fits within the need for parents to help kids draw the categories of their world.
As an adult, we feel like only unsolicited compliments matter; that if we fish for them, we have somehow nullified their validity. But my kids, and I suspect many kids, weren’t born knowing how to share their love verbally with others. In fact, sometimes I think that developmental stage where babies do not distinguish between themselves and their mother lingers on long into childhood. Mom has always been there and it is impossible to imagine life without her. She always gets my juice, reminds me to pick up my toys, gives me a bath, etc. So, expecting gratitude without pointing out the fact that mom exists is unrealistic.
So, we market mommy around here, hoping to teach our kids how to feel and show gratitude, love and appreciation, not to mention boosting Mom’s mood which seems to help the rest of the family tremendously!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sustainable
Sustainable, a word reclamation
The word reclamation here is “Sustainable.” Like many popular words, you can hear this word sprinkled around the meeting table, rolling off silk ties swung around starched shirts. The project needs to be sustainable. Is it sustainable? How do we make it sustainable?
Buzz words generate excitement, but users of them don’t always have a crisp understanding of what they mean. Take the word sustainable. It may sound wise to talk about sustainability. It may be convenient to label a new idea unsustainable if we don’t like it. But let’s think through this idea of sustainability and what it means.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines sustain as:
sus·tain
tr.v. sus·tained, sus·tain·ing, sus·tains
1. To keep in existence; maintain.
2. To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for.
3. To support from below; keep from falling or sinking; prop.
4. To support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage.
5. To bear up under; withstand: can't sustain the blistering heat.
6. To experience or suffer: sustained a fatal injury.
7. To affirm the validity of: The judge has sustained the prosecutor's objection.
8. To prove or corroborate; confirm.
9. To keep up (a joke or assumed role, for example) competently. [Middle English sustenen, from Old French sustenir, from Latin sustinēre : sub-, from below; see sub- + tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.] sus·tain'a·bil'i·ty n., sus·tain'a·ble adj., sus·tain'er n., sus·tain'ment n.
Most of the time when we use the word sustainable, we actually mean self-sustainable, our goal being to make sure there is a plan for X Project to continue on long term without the support or intervention of the creator. We use it to answer in the affirmative the question, “When I am gone, will this continue on?” But the word in itself means to maintain, nourish, and support something. Wanting something to be self-sustainable is wanting it to maintain, nourish and support itself. I wonder, how many things in our world can nourish themselves? We live in families and communities because we need each other. Sustaining something is part of our nature. So why is independence the measure of success? I wonder if it would be better to think in terms of healthy interdependence rather than independence.
But there is wisdom in planning for the future. The desire to have something go on beyond our direct influence is good and healthy when it is within Gods will and direction. But if we determine our success solely by how long something survives, it may be echoing our desire for legacy and the ability to live on despite our finiteness. These desires cannot be met in our work, but only through the infinite God who supplies our legacy through our obedience to Him. When we find these personal needs met, we are freed to see clearly enough to let go of projects that may have outlived their usefulness.
The common sentiment when we talk about sustainability is to ask, “Can man sustain whatever project we are talking about?” And “Can we train, organize, and manage the endeavor in order to turn over responsibility to someone who can sustain it after we are no longer working on it?” The reality is, nothing is sustainable outside of God. Man is finite and anything that begins and ends with man is temporal. It may be helpful to talk in terms of degrees of sustainability asking, “How finite is my project?” or “How long of an existence would be considered success in this endeavor?”
To look to sustainability as the ultimate measure of success for something is probably not wisdom. If we did, we may forgo efforts that God would have us try. To feed a hungry person is not sustainable, but it does show God’s love. Jesus encouraged us to help the poor, and to build our legacy in Heaven (Luke 12:33). Helping the widow and the fatherless does not restore their family, but it does bring our Lord glory when it’s in obedience to Him. We need to be careful not to put aside projects God would have us do because we don’t see them as sustainable.
Many times a buzzword pops up to answer a void that exists. Perhaps we didn’t think enough about sustainability in the past and now in the excitement of a new and helpful concept, we have swung to use it too heavily when measuring success and judging effectiveness. We need to find a balance between sustainable and self-sustainable, and evaluate the motives behind our value for sustainability by looking to God for His direction in all our endeavors.
Verses to Ponder
Isaiah 44:6 (New International Version)
6 "This is what the LORD says— Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
Psalm 55:22 (New International Version)
22 Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
Psalm 146:9 (New International Version)
9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
John 12:8 (New International Version)
8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."
James 1:27 (New International Version)
27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Nehemiah 13:14
14 Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.
Psalm 103:14 (New International Version)
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 112:6 (New International Version)
6 Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.
Ecclesiastes 1:11 (New International Version)
11 There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.
Mark 14:7 (New International Version)
7The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.
Luke 12:33 (New International Version)
33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Sources
Biblegateway.com
Dictionary.com
Etymonline.com
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sus·tain (sə-stān') Pronunciation Key tr.v. sus·tained, sus·tain·ing, sus·tains
10. To keep in existence; maintain.
11. To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for.
12. To support from below; keep from falling or sinking; prop.
13. To support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage.
14. To bear up under; withstand: can't sustain the blistering heat.
15. To experience or suffer: sustained a fatal injury.
16. To affirm the validity of: The judge has sustained the prosecutor's objection.
17. To prove or corroborate; confirm.
18. To keep up (a joke or assumed role, for example) competently. [Middle English sustenen, from Old French sustenir, from Latin sustinēre : sub-, from below; see sub- + tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.] sus·tain'a·bil'i·ty n., sus·tain'a·ble adj., sus·tain'er n., sus·tain'ment n.
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Etymology, http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sustain
sustain
c.1290, from O.Fr. sustenir "hold up, endure," from L. sustinere "hold up, support, endure," from sub "up from below" + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Sustainable growth is recorded from 1965.
The word reclamation here is “Sustainable.” Like many popular words, you can hear this word sprinkled around the meeting table, rolling off silk ties swung around starched shirts. The project needs to be sustainable. Is it sustainable? How do we make it sustainable?
Buzz words generate excitement, but users of them don’t always have a crisp understanding of what they mean. Take the word sustainable. It may sound wise to talk about sustainability. It may be convenient to label a new idea unsustainable if we don’t like it. But let’s think through this idea of sustainability and what it means.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines sustain as:
sus·tain
tr.v. sus·tained, sus·tain·ing, sus·tains
1. To keep in existence; maintain.
2. To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for.
3. To support from below; keep from falling or sinking; prop.
4. To support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage.
5. To bear up under; withstand: can't sustain the blistering heat.
6. To experience or suffer: sustained a fatal injury.
7. To affirm the validity of: The judge has sustained the prosecutor's objection.
8. To prove or corroborate; confirm.
9. To keep up (a joke or assumed role, for example) competently. [Middle English sustenen, from Old French sustenir, from Latin sustinēre : sub-, from below; see sub- + tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.] sus·tain'a·bil'i·ty n., sus·tain'a·ble adj., sus·tain'er n., sus·tain'ment n.
Most of the time when we use the word sustainable, we actually mean self-sustainable, our goal being to make sure there is a plan for X Project to continue on long term without the support or intervention of the creator. We use it to answer in the affirmative the question, “When I am gone, will this continue on?” But the word in itself means to maintain, nourish, and support something. Wanting something to be self-sustainable is wanting it to maintain, nourish and support itself. I wonder, how many things in our world can nourish themselves? We live in families and communities because we need each other. Sustaining something is part of our nature. So why is independence the measure of success? I wonder if it would be better to think in terms of healthy interdependence rather than independence.
But there is wisdom in planning for the future. The desire to have something go on beyond our direct influence is good and healthy when it is within Gods will and direction. But if we determine our success solely by how long something survives, it may be echoing our desire for legacy and the ability to live on despite our finiteness. These desires cannot be met in our work, but only through the infinite God who supplies our legacy through our obedience to Him. When we find these personal needs met, we are freed to see clearly enough to let go of projects that may have outlived their usefulness.
The common sentiment when we talk about sustainability is to ask, “Can man sustain whatever project we are talking about?” And “Can we train, organize, and manage the endeavor in order to turn over responsibility to someone who can sustain it after we are no longer working on it?” The reality is, nothing is sustainable outside of God. Man is finite and anything that begins and ends with man is temporal. It may be helpful to talk in terms of degrees of sustainability asking, “How finite is my project?” or “How long of an existence would be considered success in this endeavor?”
To look to sustainability as the ultimate measure of success for something is probably not wisdom. If we did, we may forgo efforts that God would have us try. To feed a hungry person is not sustainable, but it does show God’s love. Jesus encouraged us to help the poor, and to build our legacy in Heaven (Luke 12:33). Helping the widow and the fatherless does not restore their family, but it does bring our Lord glory when it’s in obedience to Him. We need to be careful not to put aside projects God would have us do because we don’t see them as sustainable.
Many times a buzzword pops up to answer a void that exists. Perhaps we didn’t think enough about sustainability in the past and now in the excitement of a new and helpful concept, we have swung to use it too heavily when measuring success and judging effectiveness. We need to find a balance between sustainable and self-sustainable, and evaluate the motives behind our value for sustainability by looking to God for His direction in all our endeavors.
Verses to Ponder
Isaiah 44:6 (New International Version)
6 "This is what the LORD says— Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
Psalm 55:22 (New International Version)
22 Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
Psalm 146:9 (New International Version)
9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
John 12:8 (New International Version)
8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."
James 1:27 (New International Version)
27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Nehemiah 13:14
14 Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.
Psalm 103:14 (New International Version)
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 112:6 (New International Version)
6 Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.
Ecclesiastes 1:11 (New International Version)
11 There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.
Mark 14:7 (New International Version)
7The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.
Luke 12:33 (New International Version)
33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Sources
Biblegateway.com
Dictionary.com
Etymonline.com
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sus·tain (sə-stān') Pronunciation Key tr.v. sus·tained, sus·tain·ing, sus·tains
10. To keep in existence; maintain.
11. To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for.
12. To support from below; keep from falling or sinking; prop.
13. To support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage.
14. To bear up under; withstand: can't sustain the blistering heat.
15. To experience or suffer: sustained a fatal injury.
16. To affirm the validity of: The judge has sustained the prosecutor's objection.
17. To prove or corroborate; confirm.
18. To keep up (a joke or assumed role, for example) competently. [Middle English sustenen, from Old French sustenir, from Latin sustinēre : sub-, from below; see sub- + tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.] sus·tain'a·bil'i·ty n., sus·tain'a·ble adj., sus·tain'er n., sus·tain'ment n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Etymology, http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sustain
sustain
c.1290, from O.Fr. sustenir "hold up, endure," from L. sustinere "hold up, support, endure," from sub "up from below" + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Sustainable growth is recorded from 1965.
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