You feel tired. You’re a good sleeper, but somehow you’re not getting enough. You’re not alone. The CDC estimates one in three Americans don’t get enough sleep. You know how important rest is to your health, your mood, your productivity, but you can’t seem to turn that corner.
One of your friends asks, in a tone that makes it sound as if he just nabbed a quark with his bare hands, whether you’ve thought about going to bed earlier. Probably not what you needed. The time your head hits the pillow is not some isolated decision, like cookie dough or mint chocolate chip ice cream. If it were as simple as your friend implied, you wouldn’t have a problem in the first place. A lot of things in life work like this. Layered complexities that make your sleeping crisis look a nine-piece jigsaw.
Take homelessness for example. Why haven’t we fixed this issue yet? Surely this is something both Democrats and Republicans, people of all ages, ethnicities, education, and income can agree upon. I have yet to hear someone advocating for more homelessness. So what’s the deal? Why are we all sitting on our hands on this one? And for generations, no less! Is it because no one has ever cared enough? Is our failure due to a multi-generation, cross-cultural agreement to just look the other way? Or are we dealing with a problem which lies in the crosshairs of many complex difficulties, involving individual choices, families, educational systems, housing costs, mental health, substance abuse, and broken welfare programs?
This is where so many of our conversations about social and political solutions go off the rails. We assume we know a lot more than we do, and so we tear apart old systems or we advocate new ones thinking we’re going to find the magic bullet to get things going in the right direction, when in reality, we trade one set of problems for another. This doesn’t mean governments, businesses and churches shouldn’t pull on the threads of the messiest, most knotted issues. They often leave things better than they found them. But when we’re trying to untangle these knots, we need humility to recognize there’s more threads in the knot than the one we’re pulling on.
Our hunger for tweet-length solutions, for snackable, bite-sized redemption plans has collapsed our ability, both as a church and a nation, to build towards sustainable healing—the sort of healing that takes place over centuries. It’s the kind of healing that involves listening, compromise, and bridge-building, all of which are out of vogue at the moment.
Settling for short-term solutions is fine as long as we are willing to be straight-forward and admit what we’re doing. We’re putting tape over a leak. It’s a method of resolution that is meant to stave off serious damage. We have not done any of the real hard work of investigation, diagnosis, or durable repair and reconstruction, and we should not pretend that we have. The problem is, because of our fatal attraction to the immediate and pragmatic (laziness, to use a less flattering word), we want to pretend that the tape over the leak is the long term solution.
The book When Helping Hurts and the essay I, Pencil do a wonderful job of unpacking the real, but hidden complexities behind things which many people assume are fairly straight-forward. As Christians, this is where the beautiful power of the gospel comes in. It is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16), and transformation and renewal (Romans 12:2).
Jesus really is the answer. Only Jesus gets in behind all the surface level programs, surveys, and statistics. Only Jesus changes people’s hearts, which in turn transforms relationships, communities, and a country. As you press in to Christ, you will see a power at work in your own spheres of influence that can actually get behind, and inside, and below all those other threads. We need to pray for Christ to be more active in our world, starting with us.
An earlier version of this article was published on Reformation21
12 comments
BASSAM NADER
I meant \”wry\” not \”rye\”
BASSAM NADER
Another wonderfully insightful article from you, Justin. Truly, and indeed, Jesus is the only answer! Amen 🙏 I remembered I had an email from you I failed to answer. Scrolled far down in my inbox to Feb. 7: Yes, there it is. I got a chuckle reading that I have had a profound impact on you in such a substantive matter as adding cardamom to coffee; which prompts you to think of me specifically at least twice a month. Wow . I too do think of you often. Actually I just did this morning, as I came upon an article on Luther Burbank, whose birthday happens to be today. Burbank was the 19th century horticulturalist who successfully bred the russet variety of the Burbank potato, Idaho\’s \”state vegetable\” and biggest crop. In my mind there\’s a funny connection between potatoes and Justin Poythress, you being in Idaho now . I often remember with a chuckle, out of the blue, the time shortly after your wedding to Liz, that Randa and I had you two over for lunch. You made a comment to Liz that we were \”checking her out\” or something like that, to see if we approve. Afterwards I regretted I didn\’t have the quickness of mind to ask her to bare her teeth so we can examine. Seriously, I love remembering you, brother, and miss your witty, rye humor, as I do your no-nonsense, practical sermons, perfectly memorized and delivered. I see that now you and Liz are up to two daughters; great! On this end, we married off our youngest, Lucie, last year on Eclipse day, Monday, April 8, on the north lawn of the church, shortly before the spectacular solar eclipse that had a perfect trajectory through Central Indiana. With that, we became true empty nesters, and are enjoying a honeymooners-like, blissful lifestyle; notwithstanding our deeper involvement in kingdom work at CCC and beyond. Blessings dear friend. I\’ll look forward to your next article. Randa says hi. Say hi to Liz. Bassam
Justin N. Poythress
Bassam,
Thanks so much brother. I’m excited for you guys in this new stage of life– lots of blessing to enjoy it sounds like!
It’s so encouraging to hear how you and Randa are thriving! I also very much enjoy that you now associate me with potatoes. Idaho has something that’s putting us on the map!
I’m so grateful for your prayers and friendship- Liz andni are definitely trying to enjoy all the craziness of this season of littles!
David King
I don’t agree with much that Mencken said, but his quote about complex problems came to mind
Justin N. Poythress
I’m interested- what’s the quote?
wedgare69fec132a
Wonderful stuff.
Great talking with you the other day. I sent you one thing but not (yet!) some others. One book you might want to look at, though I struggle with his anti-Kuyperian views, is Carl Trueman’s “Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self”. Some of his other stuff is good too. You must add more than a grain of salt though. Not for Christopher Watkins, which writes powerfully about the same subjects, but from a Vantilian viewpoint.
Blessing my friend
Bill
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Justin N. Poythress
Thanks, Bill. Always good to connect! I thoroughly enjoyed Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self–it was very influential in my research on identity and the self. I need to read through more of Watkins.
Diane Poythress
Yes, if there were no sin and all were born-agaiin, we would be in Eden.
Justin N. Poythress
As simple as it gets!
Ela Saxena
Thanks Justin I would say “ Bingo” for hitting
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks, Ela!
Stephen
As I hold on to my faith; Jesus; you are holding on to me!