Troup Baptist Association
Thursday, February 23, 2012
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Pastoral Nuggets (October 2011)Dance ‘Till it Rains
In his book, Mastering the Seven Decisions that Determine Success, author Andy Andrews quotes Anne Frank, who said, “Our lives are fashioned by choice. First we make choices. Then our choices make us.” He also tells a story about some Aboriginal Rainmakers in Australia. It seems as though every time communities got into trouble because of drought, they would call the Aboriginals to come and perform their rain dance. Some tribes were more successful than others. And one particular tribe always made it rain. When asked why it rained every single time his tribe danced, the king replied, “It’s very simply, actually. We dance ‘till it rains.”
Wow! How powerful. Stop for a moment and let those two thoughts sink in:
We make choices in life. In turn, our choices, good or bad, make us. Once we choose and commit to anything in life we need to stick with it until the very end. We need to learn to “dance ‘till it rains!”
Two things are in short supply in America today:
I think one thing that tends to hinder our good decision-making skills as Americans and as Christians is the need that our society has programmed into us for “immediate gratification.” A good example of this is when we cut an apple in half. We usually do so with the sole intent of satisfying our taste for an apple. We give little or no thought as to where the apple came from or if there will be another apple tomorrow to replace the one we ate today. Seldom do we pay attention to the seeds inside the apple. And if we even see the seeds, we only see them as a nuisance to be thrown into the garbage. We do not see the potential orchard inside the apple. We just want what we want right now! It has always amazed me that a single tiny little acorn contains the whole DNA code for a fully mature giant oak tree with the potential to produce enough acorns in its lifetime to grow an entire forest of oak trees. It’s all right there inside the tiny acorn. It just needs the proper circumstances and time to develop.
The decisions we make in life are not too dissimilar. All decisions have the potential to affect us (and others) far past the immediate gratification of today. They just need the proper circumstances and the time to develop. Remember, great things don’t develop in a day – they develop daily!
Another thing that hinders us as Americans and as Christians is our lack of commitment – to anything! Marriage is a good example of what I am talking about. I have often said (sarcastically) that preachers should change the vows in the wedding ceremony. Although the couple may repeat the preacher’s words, what they really mean is, “I promise to love, honor, and cherish until …” my new husband or wife makes me really mad and then I’m outta here. I don’t have to put up with their junk! Excuse me. I thought it was, “… until death do us part!” Silly me. Silly me.
We have made quitting too easy. Yes, we quit our marriages. We quit our jobs. We quit our churches. We quit our friendships. We quit our finances. We quit the gym. (Oops! Quit preaching and went to meddling there, didn’t I?) When things don’t happen the way we think they should, or exactly when we think they should, we quit. We take our ball and bat and go home. Whatever happened to dancing ‘till it rains?
Have you ever heard of The Butterfly Effect? According to Wikipedia, “In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions; where a small change at one place in a nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state. For example, the presence or absence of a butterfly flapping its wings could lead to creation or absence of a hurricane.”
In laymen’s terms, the simple act of a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the earth can set enough molecules in motion to start a hurricane on the other side of the earth. However, just as importantly, the absence of a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the earth can prevent a hurricane from forming on the other side of the earth. In other words, what we do or stop doing has a direct effect on things and people around us. Period.
I wonder how many churches today are dying because, Spiritually and metaphorically speaking, one or more of the faithful members stopped flapping their wings? I wonder how many marriages end in divorce because one or both or the partners stop flapping their wings? I wonder how many dreams have been forfeited because people stopped flapping their wings. (And on & on I could go!)
I heard a story once about some people who were trying to strike it rich in the oil business. They mortgaged all they had to purchase land and oil drilling equipment. They drilled for days and failed to strike oil. Finally, they threw in the towel and sold their equipment and land. The company that bought their equipment and land took over the drilling site, restarted the drilling rig, drilled six feet and hit oil. Sadly, the original owners had folded their wings too soon.
There are just two thoughts in this column today and I hope you will ponder them:
Brother Aaron
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