Chapter 2
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single
step.”
Lao-tzu
In
John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of
Leadership, he discusses the difference between an event and a process[i].
Consider the following:
Event Process
Encourages decisions Encourages development
Motivates people Matures
people
Is a calendar issue Is
a culture issue
Challenges people Changes
people
Is easy Is difficult
Being event-minded is
short-term. It has sizzle. It can draw a crowd. However, without substance (or
process) the crowd will quickly fade away.
We
Americans love to eat. For the most part eating is an event. We stuff food down
the pie-hole to keep our stomach from feeling hungry. It has not always been
this way. One of my favorite movies is “Kate and Leopold.” It is a great
illustration of clashing cultures. In one scene they are eating dinner prepared
“American style.” After complaining about the quality of the meal Leopold
reflects on his culture.
Please
understand. I am used to a different sort of preparation. Where I come from a
proper meal is the result of reflection and study. A recipe is merely a theme
which an intelligent cook can plan each time with variation.
Several
courses are served. Menus are often prepared days in advance, timed to
perfection. It is said, without the culinary art, the crudeness of reality
would make life unbearable.
This is a very different
approach to our throw-the-pre-packaged-meal-in-the-microwave-and-eat-it-on-the-way-to
… Event vs. process.
If this much effort is expended on a meal should one not
put forth much more effort planning our life? In reality we do a great deal of
planning in many areas of our lives.
A
wedding is an event for those who are invited guests. They arrive, witness the
happy union, enjoy a little refreshment, and then off to their own life. The
couple getting married see the wedding as the grand culmination of months, or
even years of planning and preparation; definitely a process. Even getting to
the point of being engaged is a process. You meet (event), you date (multiple
events), you fall in love (result of a sequence of events), and then you decide
that this is the one! That is a process!
Divorce
is an event. It is the result of the process of a failed marriage. An
unrepentant spouse, an abusive spouse, a lack of respect; all can be dealt with
when they occur. If left unchecked it becomes a process that leads to the
event: divorce. Unfortunately divorce is in itself a process. You don’t walk
out of court with everything resolved. It will affect everyone involved for the
rest of their lives.
Our
culture is sold on the quick fix. “Buy a lottery ticket, win big, and get out
of debt.” “Take a pill and end depression.” “Get an abortion to eliminate an
inconvenience.” Even our spiritual lives are not immune. We go to an altar for
someone to zap us into a relationship with our God. All of these are looked
upon as events. One and done. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am. Unfortunately, none
of these “events” solve anything. Life is not an event.
Let’s
examine some of these so-called “events” and try to learn something about human
nature that gets us into these circumstances. If we can learn how minimize our
dependence on the quick-fix our lives can have a much deeper meaning and
significance.
Debt
does not happen in a day. Getting out will not happen in a day. Just as it
takes repeatedly making bad choices with money, it will take repeated actions
of making wise choices to get out of debt. This process is not nearly as much
fun as winning the lottery, but much more certain to get the desired result.
Depression
normally does not come in a day. By living with problems, allowing them to
build day after day without resolution will cause us to become depressed. A
pill will not eliminate our problems. It simply masks the symptoms of
depression. True relief from depression comes from taking on the problems,
making difficult choices, and taking decisive action. This is a process.
The most important relationship we can have is with our
Creator. The charge we have from scripture is this: “he which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6
(KJV). This speaks of a growing relationship; one that begins on the day we are
saved, but continues the rest of our life. You do not get this at an altar.
Instead, this comes from time spent in prayer, Bible study, worship, and
fellowship with other believers. Truly we are born again in an instant (event),
but we are being saved for the remainder of our time on earth (process).
You
see, if we will take time to consider the end result that we desire (e.g.
financial stability, sound mental health, relationship with God, etc.) we can
better manage the events in our life, knowing that instead of living for an
event, we are living out a process. As we relate to our spouse in marriage we
understand that we must repent when we wrong our mate. We value them as a
person, not an object to be abused. We treat our husband or wife with respect.
In living out the process of marriage the event of divorce is never even
considered an option.
By
viewing life as a process we can better manage bad experiences, knowing that
life will continue, tomorrow will arrive, and we will survive. If all we see
are events, it is very easy to have our world shaken by a bad event. In an
event-driven mindset we can get blown off course easily. A process-driven
mindset will remain on task, moving toward the goal, taking the bump in the
road in stride, knowing that better things are in the future.
1 comment:
Excellent Dudley ! Clear and very easy to understand AND apply.
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