Kate and Jessica start this entry with a story I had never heard before of Mao Zedong's "war on the nation's sparrows" because they believed they were eating up too much precious seed grain. So they employed all sorts of tactics that caused the little birds to begin to fall to the ground (page 215).
"China was victorious in its war, and soon the numbers of live birds had reached extinction levels" (p 216).
But within a few years, they noticed that the rice harvest had actually decreased without the birds ... because now, all manner of insects and locust plagues were feasting on the crops, making the current famine that much worse. The government actually ended up importing 250,000 birds to put things back in balance.
Hominem unius libri timeo. "Beware the man of a single book." (p 215)
Kate and Jessica write, "Perhaps there were too many sparrows. But a single solution was not a solution at all" (p 216).
The Chinese government narrowed in on the one thing they thought would solve the famine crisis. And it only made things worse. If only they had thought a little longer about this and came up with a few other options. Or perhaps employed multiple tactics simultaneously (maybe ones that didn't include killing massive amounts of God's creatures).
If only they had consulted more than one book.
What is the downsized version of this that can be applied to our individual lives? In what ways do we tend to be people "of a single book?"
Well, do you tend to listen to news from the same media source all the time? (Do they always tell you what you want to hear or what you think is happening?) Do you only consult the same one friend when you're trying to make a difficult decision? (Do they always confirm what you were already thinking?)
If you surround yourself with people who look like you and work like you and think like you and believe like you, then you become a person of "a single book."
"If we are going to be the kind of people who build a more equitable world, work toward peace, and fight for justice, there must be room for anger and lament. But how will we know when we're on the right track? We can search for the signs - there will be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control" (a.k.a. the fruit of the Spirit!).
If we are going to be the kind of people God designed us to be, then change needs to happen, particularly an openness to that which is different from us. From people who are different from us. For solutions that maybe aren't the first ones that come to mind. To be people of "multiple books."
There is always risk with change and with loving others, but there is a way to know if we're on the right track or not: does it produce the fruit of the Spirit - is it loving and joyful and kind and good and gentle and faithful and self-controlled?
I suspect you will know sooner rather than later whether a particular change passes that litmus test or not.
Our hearts are soft, our ears open. Speak, Lord, of the change You desire to write into our life stories as they unfold. For we are gently becoming aware that knowledge will not be the basis for our understanding of how life goes. Love will. (p 218)
Pastor Allison
I'm curious:
How do you feel about the suggestion in "A Good Enough Step" on page 219? They talk about "weaponized piety."
I'm not sure I understand exactly what they mean by that, by "weaponized piety." And I'm also not sure what the point is of asking the two suggested questions either."
Perhaps I'm just tired, and my brain is out of gas for the day, but I honestly could use some help with this!
P.S. Look at me asking for help! I've come a long way in the last 15 months! :-)
