Mar 17, 2012
Perspective, proportion and priority are three principles that seem so basic, yet so many of us have seen how easy it is to lose sense of them. It seems especially true when we're doing something in the name of a large body of people, be it a military organization, a corporation, a church, a political party, or just about anything else of similar size.
Many of us who served in uniform can remember times and places where it seemed that clean barracks and nicely-pressed uniforms were more important than whatever it might take to win in combat. In corporations, you will find people who seem to push change for change's sake. And in some religious groups, you might sometimes see some things going on that really have nothing to do with ministry. And of course, there are the civic and youth organizations which sometimes put so much emphasis on their fund-raiser that there seems to be little time for what they came there for in the first place!
Now, let us understand that none of them started out that way. When George Washington organized what became the United States Army, he was much more interested in winning the Revolutionary War than with the length of his men's sideburns. And every church began because someone saw a need for ministry. So, what happened to them?
I'm not sure what the chances are of moving an institution "back on track", but we can try. And, fo course, we can know what to beware of so that what we build does not have too many of such problems. And above all, we can recognize it when we see it!
Blessed Be!