Warning Will Robinson

Last week at the Leadership Summit, Chip and Dan Heath talked about the “valley of insight.” The idea is that if you are trying to bring change to your life, things will go well for awhile, then not so much. When we enter into this valley, it feels bad, and people are likely to quit on whatever the change was (being a Christian, going to church, exercising, treating their spouse right, not smoking, etc.). So we need to warn people about the valley, and help them to see that it’s a “valley of insight” – that although it feels bad, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow.

Some Christians would probably disagree, saying that if we’re walking with Jesus, everything is going to be roses and root beer floats. But in today’s reading (Matthew 14) we see the guy who perhaps more lived for and was obedient to God than anyone else, ever. The guy Jesus says is the greatest of those on earth. And this guy, John the Baptist, has his head cut off!

Okay, I’m not sure what learning or growth John got out of that, but it certainly shows that just because you give your life to Jesus, you are not exempt from the you-know-what hitting the fan. (And yes, the you-know-what is your head.)

Sooooo …. probably best to warn people about that crap.