Is Progress Debilitating You?

What picture comes to mind when you think of progress? 

It was a very tragic accident, one that I will never forget. One that changed my friend’s life forever. 

I was home on break from my freshman year of college. My home team was playing for the State Championship. Coming from a tiny farming community in the Midwest, I knew everyone on the team. I considered it a real treat to be seated among the spectators that night to watch my people play!

Spirits were high and a buzz filled the air with enough electricity to power a small town.  The teams lined up for the opening kick. 

The ball went up in the air and down the field into the waiting arms of the young return man. He turned his eyes up field and began to make his way through the maze of humanity that was seeking to take him out! My friend was about to be that guy.

With his sights set on the opposing ball carrier, he was about to inflict a manageable amount of pain on this would-be hero who no doubt had notions of a touchdown run emulating him to instant hero status!

Then it happened. 

Shoulders back and head lowered...Head lowered.

As my friend went to make the tackle, he lowered his head. Mass met mass, body parts flailed, and two bodies hit the ground as all momentum came to a screeching halt. In an instant, time stood still. 

He lay there, motionless. 

All the air of anticipation and excitement was instantly sucked out of the atmosphere. The unthinkable had happened. It invaded my friends’ life as an unwanted nightmare. It changed the course of many lives around him too.

My friend redefined determination, courage, and faith as he tackled the many difficulties which that night prescribed for him. His trust in God in the midst of pain and disappointment is a once familiar story which I have lost touch with over the years, yet one that no doubt could be written if not already.

But for us in the here and now, tackling with the head down cost my friend normal use of his legs and arms. 

Remembering this story has me asking the question: What price do you and I pay when approaching life with our heads down, charging ahead to make the next big play without taking the time to keep our heads up and our eyes on what’s in front of us? 

How many times have I just plowed through life without perspective, without taking the time to stop, look and listen - to regain perspective and connection to the bigger picture?

I am coming to understand progress as simply the next step. It would seem the pressure of our day is for that step to come in leaps and bounds, charging forward with our heads down. But what if we were committed to simply taking the next step with more awareness of God and what he is saying and doing around and in us? What if we were more aware of what the very Presence of the Living God was doing in the lives of others, more aware of their stories?

Perhaps gaining this new vantage point could help evaluate tasks in light of the larger context and provide space to readjust goals and realign action items in the journey of getting where we want to be.

What do you think: How might Jesus’ idea of progress differ from that of the world we live in?

As always, I'd love to hear from you! Pull up a chair and leave a comment below.  Or you can message or email me at: eppik5@gmail.com.

Grace to you as you purpose to simply take the next step.