Disclaimer: heavy sarcasm ahead. In case you missed the first post in this series, you’ll want to start there.
Antiaxiom #2: Don’t Rock the Boat
Play it safe. Don’t stand out from the crowd. People who try to beat the system just end up getting hurt. Instead, look to see what everyone is doing, and fall in line. You may try to improve on it, but don’t overhaul it. Don’t get dangerous or risky, or someone might think you’ve lost your mind.
Kyle, I get the sense you are a bit of a rebel!!! As an inside the box guy, you will be good for me. Help me stretch beyond the box. I guess the good thing for me is that the box at FPC is stretched pretty far already.
I like this because I’m a rule follower. I like to fall in line, but I don’t like to blend in. It’s hard to play it safe when our culture promotes riskiness.
Remember, dead fish go with the flow.
Aaron, Marti, and Andy thanks for the comments! Nice to have some Faith Promise people joining the conversation!
Aaron, the box is comfortable for me too, and that’s why I’m writing this down. Not because I’ve got it figured out, but because I feel this tension in my own soul. I want to fit in, but that must be subservient to Christ.
Marti, what you mentioned is something we were talking about in small group a few weeks ago. Like Esther, we’re crazy to think that anything is “safe”. Staying put is risky – sometimes more risky than moving forward.
I have been reading a management book and there is a quote from Andy Grove (former CEO of Intel). It says, “None of us has a real understanding of where we are heading. I don’t. I have a sense about it…but decisions don’t wait….You have to make them when you make them. So you take your shots and clean up the bad ones later.” I like this quote because like Kyle said inaction could be the greatest risk.
Aaron, nice quote! I like that a lot.
Addendum to antiaxiom #2: Don’t rock the boat, especially if it has holes in it. Sometimes you just have to survive.
Unfortunately, too many people are in this position. So was Peter, when he began to sink after walking on water with Jesus. Even defeat and failure can shape us to be more like Christ. It’s all in your perspective, WHO your’re looking at!
Leonard, I think you’re completely right with your addendum. Rather than fixing or scrapping a leaking boat, we can just sit there bailing water.
Also, like you implied, we can be tricked into the mistake of thinking that survival is the goal. If you look at the lives of the disciples, it clearly wasn’t (history records that most gave their lives for their faith).