The essence of fragility is fearing the unknown and preparing for it by hoping it doesn't happen or pretending that a world without problems is possible. That's fragility's move: hope disaster never happen.
The essence of resilience is being resigned to the known and preparing to absorb it when it comes. That's resilience: accept the fact of problems by preparing to endure them.
The essence of antifragility is being excited by the prospect of problems and running towards problems, not merely accepting their reality. That's antifragility's move: invite the right kind of problems and grow stronger because of them.
In order to demonstrate how this plays out, let's take two major problems: death and mistakes. Both have obvious difficulties associated with them and both are inevitabilities: it is not a matter of IF you will need to deal with them, but WHEN.
DEATH
The fragile outlook of death is that it is the END.
Matthew 6:27
Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
If you imagine that death is the end, you will spend a lot of time, talent, energy and time on trying not to die. You will orient many of your decisions around the orienting principle of, "Whatever it takes, don't die."
The resilient outlook of death is that is must be ENDURED.
John 11:24
Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
If you imagine that there is life after death, you won't be as anxious about trying to stay alive, which is an advantage over seeing death as the end, but it still leaves you disappointed about the prospect of death. Sure it isn't the end of everything, but it's the end of this thing.
The antifragile outlook of death is that it is an ENTRANCE.
Philippians 1:21
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
If you believe there is life after life and it is the life you desire more even than this life, you will see death not only as something assured, not merely as something to endure, but something to be embraced and even enjoyed. It is an entrance to where you really want to be. If you desire to be where Christ is, death is the only way to get there.
MISTAKES
The fragile outlook on mistakes is that they are to be AVOIDED.
The resilient outlook on mistakes is that they are to be ACCEPTED.
The antifragile outlook on mistakes is that they are to be INVITED.
A fragile outlooks imagines it can avoid mistakes and spends a good deal of time, talent, energy and money simply trying to avoid them. A resilient outlook accepts the reality of mistakes and attempts to learn from them. An antifragile outlook sees mistakes as the only way to learn and invites the right kind of mistakes as progress, not regression.
Many Christians would do well to accept the reality of problems and prepare better for them instead of praying for a world without problems. They need to be where they are and accept what is rather than resenting the world as they pray for another. Some Christians have accepted the reality of problems and are committed to enduring them when they come along. Few Christians embrace problems and would rather shovel for ox dung knowing it is the natural problem having more pulling power produces.
We cannot hole up and simply hope problems never knock. We do better to have a plan for when problems knock. But we do best to send out invites to the right kind of problems, praying to hear them knocking, knowing that a greatest harvest comes with them.
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