day no. 16,223: the finish line is admired by all, but enjoyed by those who cross it

Acts 14:22

Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God is not made any less meaningful by being made difficult to reach; but is made, in fact, all the more glorious. It isn't enjoyed for the exclusion of others, but for the satisfaction of persevering to its gates. The finish line is admired by all, but it is only enjoyed by those who actually cross it.

Winning isn't worth it if anyone can do it. Hard work makes winning worth while. The attraction of achieving greatness is breathing the rare air of those who sucked the wind of adversity long enough to get there. The summit is admired by all, but it is only enjoyed by those who reach it.

Hard things are entered into for the joy of achieving them. A man endeavors to reach the South Pole precisely because it is difficult. A man sets out to become a Navy Seal because he knows how hard it will be. Those who've run 26.2 miles often announce it with stickers on their back windows precisely because of how hard it was. They want you to know that while you're both in cars at the moment, they could be running. No one counters with a "I walked around the block once" sticker, unless they're being cheeky. Difficulty makes a destination all the more delightful for having arrived there, not less.

"If you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one." -- C. S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy

The kingdom of God is not achieved through one difficult duty or decision. It is gained through many trials and much tribulation, not because it isn't worth it, but because it is... and only those who hold out and hold on will reach it, but all those who do, enjoy it.

day no. 15,248: antifragile prayer

On my walk to work this morning (12/18/19) I made the following connection between prayer and antifragility.

Fragility prays for no problems. It cannot accept a world with problems and prays for God to remake the world in their image and preference.

Resilience prays for problems to be easier than they have to be. It accepts the fact of problems, but focuses on their severity rather than their reality, which it readily accepts.

Antifragility prays for more of the right kind of problems. It asks God to make things harder than they have to be as a result of increased blessing. 

Resilience resists certain blessings since they attend certain work and fragility prefers less blessing if it means less stress. Antifragility welcomes work in order to host more blessing.

Fragility is hostile to blessing.
Resilience is willing to host blessing.
Antifragility is hospitable to blessing. 

Antifragility opens its doors and sends out invites welcoming blessing and its problems over. Fragility prays blessing doesn't find its address. Resilience hopes blessing doesn't stay for dessert. Antifragility prepares a room for blessing to live and prays it will take up residence in its life.

day no. 15,233 continued... not milk sops

"Thank God He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a glad thing, but it is also a heroic, holy thing. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is bringing many 'sons unto glory,' and God will not shield us from the requirements of a son. God’s grace turns out men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not milk sops. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the noble life of a disciple of Jesus in actual things. It is always necessary to make an effort to be noble."-- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

No one is noble by accident.

No one walks the narrow path without effort.

You cannot stay on the straight path without keeping your balance. Balance is an energy filled, intentional exertion against falling either direction, not a static state of lackadaisical loitering.

day no. 15,228: who could be for problems and against love?

The word "problem" is problematic for many. It conjures negative sentiment. Conversely, the word "love" is lovely for most. It conjures positive sentiment. But "problem" and "love" are neither inherently positive nor negative. 

Proverbs 14:4
Where no oxen are, the crib is clean:
but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

The problem of a harvest being larger than one expected is a real problem (you need bigger barns, better transportation, different strategies for dispersion, etc...) but it is a welcomed problem. That is a problem resulting from a positive and one you would choose again and again. Increase is a good problem to have. While it is true that more oxen equal more crap, it is also true that more oxen equal more crops.

1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all evil

The love of money is negative and one of the most predatory passions one can inflame. This love has a negative connotation to it. To love money is worse than liking it. To be in love with accumulation is to be addicted to destruction. This kind of love leads lambs to the slaughter humming a little ditty as they walk on a sandy beach.

Problems are not inherently negative
Love is not inherently positive

"Bad" problem is not necessarily a double negative, it describes what kind of problem it is.
"True" love is not necessarily a double positive, it describes what kind of love were dealing with.

Problems can be good.
Love can be bad.

It all depends on the direct objects. The love of money, self, evil, etc... are all negative. The problems of plenty and growth are often positive.

day no. 15,138: the anticipated chaos of combat

"This chaotic environment also brings opportunity. Clausewitz wrote about combat, 'No other human activity is so continuously. . . bound up with chance.' The challenge is to recognize opportunity when it occurs in the midst of chaos and uncertainty and to seize it to obtain a clear, unambiguous victory. When viewed through time, even the most chaotic of systems may reveal recurring patterns that may then be exploited. The experienced tactician will look for these recurring patterns that can be exploited to advantage." -- MCDP 1-3: Tactics

Chaos is attended by opportunity. The chaos is easily identified while the opportunities are not. God imposed His will upon the chaotic, formless void in the beginning and from it came everything that has every lived. Chaos, in other words, is an opportunity to impose order. The vacancy of order is a vacuum waiting to be filled by something. The seat will not remain empty. It is not a matter of if order will sit down, but which order?

Chaos is order waiting to happen.

But it will not corral itself into shape. It is ripe for the picking and ready to be shaped by whoever is ready in that moment to take advantage of the void and fill it with their agenda. The anticipated chaos of combat is an expected opportunity to advance one's agenda and impose one's will. That presupposes knowing what you want to do, where you want to go and being ready and able to take advantage of the vacancies produced by battle by occupying them with your imposition.

day no. 15,022: an antifragile take on death and mistakes

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.

day no. 15,010: adversity as a means of maturity

"We must therefore be prepared to cope—even better, to thrive—in an environment of chaos, uncertainty, constant change, and friction."

Everything has its problems. If you enroll in a math class, the first thing they do is give you math problems. Problems are a part of life. Some are a result of sin, like the thorns and thistles that accompany our efforts, and some are a result of mission, like logistics involved in conquering the world through fruit-bearing and multiplication. Problems are part of the mission and made more complicated because of the presence of sin.

Coming to terms with problems moves you from a fragile state to a place of resilience. Fragility is expecting life to go off without a hitch. Everything is fine... and then all of a sudden, it isn't! That is refusing to cope with the fact of problems... which is its own problem. Resilience is accepting the fact of friction. But that is merely the willingness to deal with the fact of problems in theory and the presence of problems in practice. That is a step in the right direction, but it has yet to reach the intended destination.

The destination is a place where you pursue problems. Fragility hopes difficulty never knocks at the door. Resilience knows better and commits to opening the door. Antifragility opens the door in order to go and invite more problems over for dinner... the right kind of problems, the ones that come with increased production.

Proverbs 14:4
Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

It is madness to be angry at an ox for making a mess in its manger. Wisdom comes to terms with the crap that comes along with the ox. Fragility either keeps its fingers crossed for a crapless ox or kills its ox in order to avoid any more crap. Resilience accepts the fact of the crap, which is a step in the right direction.  However, the destination is a place where you purposely purchase MORE oxen in order to plow MORE fields knowing full well that it will mean MORE crap in your barn. 

In other words, the goal is not merely to put up with crap, but to joyfully invite as MUCH of the right know of it into your life.

James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The goal is to thrive in times of change and friction. Many of us would do well to stop wishing for a world without difficulty and to start dealing with a world that is difficult. But we would do better to pursue difficulty and leverage it to our advantage, to grow stronger because of the opposition we face, and to invite adversity into our lives instead of merely accepting it when it tracks us down.

Proverbs 24:10
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.

day no. 14,947: mediocre milquetoast or dangerous greatness?

While running on the treadmill last night (7/18/19) listening to Langhorne Slim and The Law's "Past Lives" I took note of the following verse

I wish that I were good
oh man, I wish that I were great
I wish that I'd been early
more often than late
but nothing lasts forever
maybe that's fate
when you're alive, you're alright
when you're dead, you're a saint

I can relate to that desire to be good and even more to that desire to be great. I have recently adopted the phrase, "in order to be great at something, you have to be willing to first be bad at it." When you want to be good, it makes sense that you would keep going and want to be better... even great. But that only complicates the necessity of first being bad at something. It makes the badness all the more difficult to endure. A desire for greatness can often create an unwillingness to bear up under badness. And so, many simply walk away and choose mediocre milquetoast rather than a dangerous greatness.

If you want to be on top of things: early, adequate, competent and capable, you are going to likely first have to be a little late, inadequate, incompetent and incapable. But if you keep at it and by grit and grace keep going, you may just find yourself getting earlier, more adequate, more competent and more capable than you were before and one step closer to greatness than you were before you ever failed.

Furthermore, if you somehow embrace the difficult venture of getting better at something, you still must consider that the end of the thing may only be greatness in hindsight. Your achievements will only outlast you if they are honorable and eternal. The saints do not only live on forever in our memories because of their noble lives, they live right now eternal as we only begin to catch on to how amazing God's grace was moving in their lives.

day no. 14,833: antifragile, the art of embracing adversity

Men’s Ministry

Antifragility

November 2, 2018

BIG IDEAS: adversity is an opportunity for men to advance

GOSPEL: the world is better because Jesus embraced His appointed adversity

…

SCENARIO: FOOTBALL GAME ON DEFENSE

Limit the number of yards the other team gains

Stop them from gaining any yards

Gain field position for your team by pushing them back

BUT STRATEGY CANNOT BE "HOPE THEY DON'T PLAY OFFENSE"

b/c the other team is going to run their best plays

1 PETER 4:12

Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you –

as though something strange were happening to you.

SO ADVERSITY IS A GIVEN, BUT OUR RESPONSE ISN'T

If you simply assume we will rise to the occasion, you probably won't

1 KINGS 20:11

Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.

⇒  the time for boasting is AFTER… not BEFORE

Q: SO IN THE MEANTIME, WHAT DO WE DO? WAIT AROUND?

NO! Prepare.

           "the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war"

THE TIME FOR PRODUCING BULLETS IS NOT WHEN YOU'RE UNDER FIRE

Ex: build walls, build emergency fund, study theology, date your wife

PROVERBS 24:10 If you faint in the day of adversity,

       your strength is small.

1 – FRAGILE: everything is fine… until it isn't

CHARACTER: Achilles

RESULT: Adversity produces loss

2 – RESILIENT: everything is fine if I'm holding the line

CHARACTER: Phoenix

RESULT: Adversity can be endured without loss

3 – ANTIFRAGILE: I don't want just fine anymore

CHARACTER: Hydra

RESULT: Adversity produces gain

SO GIVEN THAT, WE SHOULD NOT ONLY EXPECT ADVERSITY,

BUT EMBRACE IT

JAMES 1:2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect

and complete, lacking in nothing.

AREAS OF APPLICATION:

FAITH

Fragile – false doctrine could lead you into denying or redefining  faith

Resilient – false doctrine is defended against and faith survives intact

Antifragile – false doctrine leads to refined faith

FINANCES

Fragile – adversity leads to poverty

Resilient – adversity is absorbed

Antifragile – adversity leads to creativity

FAMILY/FRIENDS

Fragile – sin produces insecurity and weakness

Resilient – sin is survived w/ relationship in tact

Antifragile – sin produces greater strength and security

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Q: In what areas of my life am I fragile? (Faith, Finances, Family/Friends, etc…)

Q: In what areas of my life am I resilient? (not failing, but not thriving/growing)

Q: In what areas of my life am I antifragile? (stronger because of adversity)

Q: What battle plans do I have in place to deal with adversity?

Q: What battles is God calling me to in this season of life?

Q: What battles wear me out?

Q: What battles give me energy?

Q: Are there any battles I'm hoping someone else will fight for me?

Q: Are there battle plans I've discovered that I should be sharing with others?

Q: Are there any battles I'm fighting that require back-up?

Q: Do I know somebody that I can call upon for help?

Q: Am I somebody that someone else can call upon to help?

Q: What could I be doing now to make myself better equipped to help others?