By embracing the gifts and limitations of our growth, Father Richard believes we can face reality with greater integrity and wisdom:
When history evolves and embraces a new idea, cultural mood, or consciousness, we need not (we dare not, actually!) completely exclude the previous idea, mood, or consciousness. We grow best by including what was good and lasting in the previous stage and avoiding the overreaction and rebellious spirit that have characterized most revolutions up to now. This demands both humility and the capacity for nondual thinking. Either/or thinking immediately creates disjunction and mistrust. Both/and thinking creates continuity and trust over time. This nonviolent compromise can most simply be stated as include and transcend. It is at the core of what we mean by wisdom and by nonviolence.
We can trust and even need certain kinds of disorder to clarify what our original Order meant, lacked, or intended. There are always a few needed correctives to every new proposition, and those correctives only appear over time and with practice.
If we can rightly achieve an integration of original plan plus correctives, rule plus “the exception that proves the rule,” Order plus Disorder, we have what I am calling Reorder. Reorder moves us forward in a positive way, but then sets the stage for the pattern to continue all over again. Even good Reorder, in time, becomes its own faulty Order and its own cracks will begin to show. The need for humility and creativity never stops.
ORDER, by itself, normally wants to eliminate any disorder and diversity, creating a narrow and cognitive rigidity in both people and systems.
DISORDER, by itself, closes us off from any primal union, meaning, and eventually even sanity in both people and systems.
REORDER, or transformation of people and systems, happens when both are seen to work together.
Given the prevalence of this pattern, it must now be considered culpable ignorance that most people still consider Disorder somewhat of a surprise, a scandal, a mystery, or something to be avoided or overcome by an easy jump from Order to Reorder. This is human hubris and illusion. Progress is never a straight and uninterrupted line, but we have all been formed by the Western philosophy of progress that tells us it is, leaving us despairing and cynical.
So, what does this demand of humanity, especially those who are leaders and teachers? More than anything else—humility and creativity! These virtues offer the detachment and patience that allow history to move forward because they keep our absolutes, our certitudes, and our obstinacy out of the way. Even God submits to mercy and forgiveness toward “what used to be.” Apparently, God enjoys doing this because it never stops happening: Every original Order learns to include an initially threatening Disorder, which morphs into and creates a new Reordering, and we begin all over again.
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Sarah Young Jesus Calling
Grow strong in your weakness. Some of My children I’ve gifted with abundant strength and stamina. Others, like you, have received the humble gift of frailty. Your fragility is not a punishment, nor does it indicate lack of faith. On the contrary, weak ones like you must live by faith, depending on Me to get you through the day. I am developing your ability to trust Me, to lean on Me, rather than on your understanding. Your natural preference is to plan out your day, knowing what will happen when. My preference is for you to depend on Me continually, trusting Me to guide you and strengthen you as needed. This is how you grow strong in your weakness.
RELATED SCRIPTURE:
James 4:13-15 (NLT)
Warning about Self-Confidence
13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
Additional insight regarding James 4:13-16: It is good to have goals, but goals can disappoint us if we leave God out of them. There is no point in making plans as though God does not exist because the future is in his hands. The beginning of good planning is to ask: “What would I like to be doing ten years from now? One year from now? Tomorrow? How will I react if God steps in and rearranges my plans?” We can plan ahead, but we must hold on to our plans loosely. If we put God’s desires at the center of our planning, he will never disappoint us. Additionally, life is short no matter how many years we live. Don’t be deceived into thinking that you have lots of remaining time to live for Christ, to enjoy your loved ones, or to do what you know you should. Live for God today! Then, no matter when your life ends, you will have fulfilled God’s plan for you.
Proverbs 3:5 (NLT)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Additional insight regarding Proverbs 3:5-6: When we have an important decision to make, we sometimes feel that we can’t trust anyone – not even God. But God knows what is best for us. He is a better judge of what we want than we are! We must trust him completely in every choice we make. We should not omit careful thinking or belittle our God-given ability to reason, but we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of all others. We must not be wise in our own eyes but be willing to listen to and be corrected by God’s Word and wise counselors. Bring your decisions to God in prayer; use the Bible as your guide; then follow God’s leading. He will direct your paths by both guiding and protecting you.
Isaiah 40:28-31 (NLT)
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
Additional insight regarding Isaiah 40:29-31: Even the strongest people get tired at times, but God’s power and strength never diminish. He is never too tired or too busy to help and listen. His strength is our source of strength. When you feel all of life crushing you and you cannot go another step, remember that you can call upon God to renew your strength. Trusting in the Lord is the patient expectation that God will fulfill his promises in his Word and strengthen us to rise above life’s difficulties. Through your faith may be struggling or weak, accept his provisions and care for you.
