Leadership Thought It Takes Guts to Get Out of the Ruts.

Dear Friends

I am told that there is a sign along an Alaskan highway that has brought a smile to many a traveler. It reads: “Choose your rut carefully. You’ll be in it for the next 150 miles.”

It is easy to get into the rut of routine. We do things because that is the way we have always done them, like the church that refused to put a handle on the door, because the elders said the church had been like that for 200 years, and they were not about to change now. No one knew why the handle was left off the door, but since it had been that way for  200 years, it would remain that way-probably until someone comes along to close it down, for a church  that like that that is so rutted in ritual and routine probably won’t survive very long, nor should it.

During the 1940’s the Swiss watch was the most prestigious and best quality watch in the world. Consequently, 80 percent of the watches were made in Switzerland. In the late 50’s the digital watch was presented to the leaders of the Swiss watch company, and they rejected this  idea because they knew they already had the best watch and the best watchmakers in the world. The man who had developed the digital watch subsequently sold the idea to Seiko

In 1940 Swiss watch-making companies employed 80,000 workers. Today they employ eighteen thousand. In 1940, 80 percent of the watches sold in the world were made in Switzerland. Today 80 percent of the best watches are digital. (Developing the Leader Within You, John Maxwell, p. 58).

And not only are there businesses that refuse to change, there are people who possess the same mentality. They would rather die than change. Many people will choose to die before they choose to change. It takes guts to get out of the resistance to change. It takes courage to be different. In spite of the fact that we have been warned about the need for social distancing, there have been groups of young people holding Covid parties, intentionally gathering in large groups, and even contributing money to  a pot that would go to the first one contracting the virus. In one of those cases, a young college student died. Shortly before his death, he acknowledged he had made a mistake. He told a nurse shortly before he died, “I didn’t think Covid was a big deal.”

Some of Jesus’ harshest words were directed to those who refused to examine their routines, rituals, and traditions. He said to the Pharisees who were upset that the disciples were breaking the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands before they ate, “You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men” Matthew 15:2, 6-9).

Rules, rituals, regulations can become routine if we are not mindful to examine their ultimate purpose. The church or the Christian must not get hung up on tradition but always  be willing to boldly move  into the future. We need to be people who possess the pioneering spirit not the settler spirit. We need to look at the things we do, while always asking ourselves are these things ‘weights’ or ‘wings’ in our life.

By the way, do you know how  many people it takes to change a light bulb? Four! One to change the bulb and three to reminisce about how good the old light bulb was.”

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

P.S. Cornfield’s Law says that  nothing is ever done until everyone is convinced that it ought to be done and has been convinced for so long that it is now time to do something else.