Eating The Elephant

January 25, 2010

Ever been in a situation where the Elephant in the room was obvious yet no one wanted to address it? If you have been in ministry for any length of time, the answer to that question is "YES"! So often we want to change things or to see things change but have little courage to face the Elephant head-on. We walk around it, ignore it, point in another direction or blindly walk into it time after time. Yet, we will not call it what it is or draw attention to it in any way.

Whether this elephant is one of a personal or professional nature, we feel as though it is easier to ignore its presence rather than face the brutal facts. Why? Because until you face the brutal facts about the elephant in the room, until you own up to the problem right in front of your eyes, you can never go beyond it. You will never be able to make good decisions about the future until you confront the elephant in the room.

The only catch is the hard work involved in facing the elephant. You may discover, as you process the brutal facts, that you are the problem, or that your best friend needs to go. You may discover that you have been going in the wrong direction and need to make a course correction. No matter what the situation, it will take courage and brutal honesty to move forward.

In a paid work environment, making decisions about the elephant is much easier than in the local church. Which is precisely the reason we rarely take a good look at the creature staring us in the face, call it what it is, grab a knife a fork, and eat the Elephant. (By the way, it doesn't taste like chicken. It tastes like crow!)

This is true even in our spiritual lives. We can never fully understand the grace and forgiveness of God until we are able to deal honestly with the true depths of our own sinfulness.

Posted 1/25/2010 in Stephen Gray | 0 Comments - Add Comment