More of What Matters in a Cause-Driven World

More of what matters in a cause-driven world has haunted me awhile.

Probably because for every cause there’s an effect. Just one, if we’re lucky. And a cascading line of dominoes if we’re not.

We often are not. Which has gotten me to thinking why that is.

Lord knows there are plenty of examples of societal issues and causes. Some are well-considered, but too often, many are emotionally-charged and strides away from the view of reality a larger-angle lens affords.

No diamond is cut with just one facet.

Since looking outward these days at domino effects gives me a cause-based headache, I sometimes ponder the experiences of cause and effect in my own life. Boy howdy. If you want to learn a thing or two, first consider yourself. We’re cause and effect purveyors in the flesh.

Over the past number of years as I’ve grown increasingly tired of being tapped for a cause for everything under the sun, it has coincided with a more confident walk away from things I know have hindered my desired effects.

That is, what I’ve learned and continue to unpack of what I am to be about. Jesus was about his Father’s business. That’s my heart’s desire, too. But there’s this annoying constant tapping on my mental door with headlines, emails, posts, snail mail, ad nauseum. A cause will find you and tap away like Woody Woodpecker.

It’s not just a monetary tapping either. It’s an emotional “you need to care about this” times a thousand things gone wrong with the world. For as good and right and needful as a multitude of causes may be, I first ‘go silo’.

Not solo. Silo. As in, taking time for my sights to become or remain calibrated to Christ and His cause. In order to be about my Father’s business, it surely helps to be tuned into His frequency, not just my own reaction or Woody’s incessant drilling. Though Christ’s cause may initially be abstract in detail as I begin to walk it out, a funny thing happens on the way to whomever or wherever He’s guiding me:

The headache goes away, the cause-driven crowd fades into the background, and I gain exquisite clarity and peace. The effect of the cause of Christ effectually put into practice a thousand little choices over time, is one that runs counter-intuitive to my natural way of thinking. Yet the Lord continually proves His mind in my grey matter when I seek to know His thoughts. He has an answer for every person, thing, or circumstance faced.

Not to say I get an answer immediately; sometimes it’s taken years. But when He unveils it, there’s no denying it. Similar to the effect of rising up out of deep waters with sparkler held high, casting light on what was once dim.

the cause of Christ

The cause of Christ is my more of what matters in a cause-driven world. While His cause may well fit with many of the world’s causes, I have the God-granted privilege of choosing the causes I connect with. However, I take that privilege seriously because of the time I’ve spent considering the effects of my free will.

There are times it wasn’t pretty, and downright foolish.

It is not enough to have a short-term view no matter the cause. The effects of choices and causes we commit our time, energy, heart and will to, will, in time, make themselves known. The sneaky part is that it’s not always in the moment, tomorrow, or a week down the road. If it were – and when it is – we are more aware and apt to take corrective measures if it’s an effect we don’t like or didn’t intend. We can hope we would choose wisely.

But, our own reasoning can get sneakier still. To rectify the first unwelcome effect, we may resort to another choice we think keeps us in alignment with what we’re trying to accomplish. However, without the long-term view considered beforehand, we often aren’t aware of the dominoes lining up like little soldiers behind us.

Listen, I’m well aware of how this cycle plays out. We can do our best learning in some of our worst circumstances, both personally and as part of the broader community. God uses everything to guide us toward accessing the true reality of Christ’s cause that is ways and means above that of the world’s:

Hope fulfilled and unveiled glory.¹

In principle, history repeats itself. There will come a time when we will witness  many causes and their resulting effects in real-life reality. While I work toward and pray for a critical mass of multi-faceted diamonds out of ashes, history assures us there will be loss too. Which is why a long-term view is vital and short-term, lethal.

There are more causes than one person can singularly focus upon. Unintentionally there can be a detrimental effect of people shutting down, opting for complacency, or getting riled up and angry over every cause slighted or successful. I simply do not wish to live shut down, complacent, or riled up and angry over 20 million causes.

As a result, silo time is when I determine and restate to myself my more of what matters in a cause-driven world. When Holy Spirit re-confirms the diamonds with another shot of clarity in the midst of reality, I’m in a more settled place – mentally and spiritually – to move forward to a cause.

The charge from silo time is individually, each of us doing what we were designed to do – whether alone or one of many.

The secret is talking about Christ’s cause with Him. Imagine that ♥

~Gracefully Free  

¹ Colossians 1:27; I Thessalonians 2:19

You can read more in the More of What Matters Series │Photo by Kristopher Roller on Unsplash