As Mark Batterson begins Chapter 6 (“Playing It Safe Is Risky”) of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, he tells the story of an MIT meteorologist named Edward Lorenz. In 1960 Edward was attempting to develop a computer program that could simulate and forecast weather conditions. Usually he used the number .506127 in his calculations. One day, however, Edward was in a hurry and rounded that number to .506, figuring the difference would be inconsequential. When he returned, he found a radical change in weather conditions, the difference between the original and rounded numbers being equivalent to a puff of wind created by a butterfly’s wing- hence “the butterfly effect”.
In his book Chaos James Gleick defines the butterfly effect as follows: “Tiny differences in input [can] quickly become overwhelming differences in output.” Pastor Batterson notes that what is true in science is true in life. Small changes or choices become magnified over time and have a domino effect on our destiny. He asserts that most good things that happen are the product of calculated, God-ordained risks. Playing it safe is risky- the best one can do is break even.
The author believes it is better that discovering our calling is a long and arduous process- “because easy answers produce shallow convictions.”
Today’s question: As you revision your calling following your vocation loss, what God-ordained risks might you need to take? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Sink or sit”
