It’s supposed to be cold in January, but not this cold. Today, schools are closed because it’s too frigid for kids to walk to – let alone stand at – bus stops. A ripping, persistent wind makes the air feel like the temperature is 30-50 degrees below zero.
We’ve been introduced to a rather ominous meteorological term: the “polar vortex.” That sounds pretty mean to me, so I decided to learn more about it. After a bit of research, my understanding is that the normally tight circulation of cold air at the North Pole has become “distorted.” The wind speeds there have slowed enough for the vortex to lose its shape and bring North Pole conditions to large swaths of North America. So the vortex, which belongs at the pole, has lost its discipline, spilling life-threatening levels of cold into densely populated areas. In its natural habitat, it serves a positive function for the entire northern hemisphere. But when it floods its boundaries, it wreaks havoc.
Does it sound like nature is providing us with a parable of human behavior? It’s hard to miss. This unnaturally cold weather feels like the North Pole is forcing the rest of us into its vortex. When a person does that, it’s called dysfunctional behavior at best, and pathological at worst. Good self-awareness helps us to garner our strengths and make sure we use them positively, sort of like keeping them in tight circulation. But when we lose our focus, our strengths become liabilities. Highly extroverted people who know how to win friends and influence enemies need a lot of discipline to make sure their behavior does not spill into all sorts of promiscuity. (Think of any number of politicians caught in sex scandals.) Deeply reflective people who are able to perceive reality and find solutions to seemingly intractable problems also need a lot of discipline, lest they become isolated, even anti-social, and create awkwardness in social gatherings.
As a pastor, I am convinced that one major reason for conflict in churches is that people are misplaced in positions of responsibilities that do not match their gifts. If you approach pastoral care the same way you would fix a leaky toilet, you’re probably going to do a lot of harm. If you are a hands-on, task-oriented person, you may have trouble leading a group of people and allowing everyone to contribute to a project. If you are gifted at teaching young children, you may have trouble engaging a class of older teenagers. In situations like these, people’s strengths are being exercised “out of bounds,” and the result is often anger and resentment.
All this is made worse when you regard your gift as superior to everybody else’s. When someone with that exaggerated self-image is put in a leadership position, he or she will (perhaps unconsciously) exercise tight control, alienate followers, and then get angry at the lack of cooperation.
Think of your strengths as the circular energy that gives you life. Spiritual discipline keeps that circulation tight and focused where it is most helpful and effective. Without the discipline, we get sloppy, spilling ourselves into areas where we are not needed or wanted, drawing others into our orbits instead of allowing them to function effectively in their own.
This does not mean that we should all operate independently of each other. Far from it. Those winds at the North Pole are important to Earth’s ecological balance. We all belong to greater ecologies – or communities – whether families, churches, neighborhoods, villages, or cultures, but in order for those systems to work well, everyone involved needs to respect how each person is a vital part of the whole.
If you want a biblical basis for what I’m talking about, read 1 Corinthians, (especially chapters 12-14) which is all about a church rich in spiritual gifts that are being used improperly and causing more conflict than community. And read Romans 14 and 15, where Paul stresses the importance of welcoming one another and admonishes the spiritually strong to bear with the weak rather than quarrel with them. We all have gifts, but they are given for the common good.
These high winds need to take their Arctic air back where it belongs, just as all of us need to exercise our gifts and strengths with wisdom and discipline.
Copyright 2014 by J. Mark Lawson
Finding the balance, being open minded, and considering all of the possibilities definitely gives us pause to consider our role in God's creation.
Posted by: Deb Record | 01/07/2014 at 06:33 PM