Wastewater

Last week my daughter suddenly lost her appetite. She barely ate for 3 days. We went to the doctor, and her first question was, “Did you go to the beach?

We had gone to the beach on Friday. The water, which normally was good and clean (we’ve been there many times), was dirty that day. There was a lot of twigs and leaves and occasional debris caught in the surf.

By Saturday night my daughter was complaining of stomach pain.

Why was the water dirty this day? This question exposes a deeper problem — what happens when growth outpaces infrastructure.

Our pediatrician began to explain that she has a beach house in the same city we visited. She said that due to the amount of development going on there, the water is often contaminated. Then she said what became the inspiration for this letter: they do not have the infrastructure to accommodate the growth.

This is a common problem in Brazil, unfortunately. The water treatment, drainage and sewer systems were built to serve what the world looked like 20-30 years ago. Now cities are focused on real-estate development, and buildings have gone up faster than pipes went in.

Infrastructure expansion is expensive, slow, and politically invisible. The reality is pipes underground don’t win elections. Thus, many beautiful beaches are often polluted with human waste and industrial runoff. And citizens and visitors fall ill because of it.

This is a lesson we should learn and apply to our own lives. Specifically, this is why we need to develop convictions.

In Luke 14, Jesus warns against the same mistake local governments are making: focusing on the glory and external success without doing the so-called boring work. Within our context, the cost he is referring to is the long-term planning and investment that must be made in the infrastructure that will support high-rises and the industry and commerce around them.

You don’t have to be a civil engineer or an architect for this to apply to you. Being inadequately prepared for the future is a common mistake.

• Career success that costs us in our marriage, relationships or mental and physical health.

• A sudden unexpected stressful situation that overwhelms us.

• Not taking time to rest or think long-term because we get so busy with goals and activities.

• “Falling” into sin. The reality is most of the time the area we sin in is the area we have neglected or are most vulnerable in.

You must ask yourself:

• What needs to be put in place in order to prevent you from falling (ill) or failing?

• What needs to be put in place as you grow and develop?

• What areas of your life are you most displeased with or consistently frustrated with?

Part of the problem is when they installed the water systems in these towns, they had no idea of what the city would eventually become.

What vision do you have for your life? Who do you want to be in one year? In 5 years? If your life continued just like it is now, in 5 years would you be happy?

What do you desire this year? What do you believe and what will you do about it? What is God wanting to build in your life this year? What is God wanting to build WITH your life this year?

It is a new year and people have their new year goals (many people have already given up on them). Geoff Woods argues that goals are not about outcomes. Goals are really about the person you are becoming while pursuing that result.

Upgrade Your Convictions

Convictions are not ornaments or decorations. These are the infrastructure through which proper living flows. Convictions are what you hold when no one else is watching. They are not loud opinions but quiet governors of behavior. They are the deep foundations that are the reason you believe, speak and behave the way you do. They are the infrastructure that will support and enable sustainable, healthy living.

Your convictions are your standards for living. They should be based on the word of God; the counsel and challenge you receive from the Bible, not culture, personality, preference, or comfort.

You need convictions in the areas of life that matter: morality, ethics, reading your Bible, church attendance, work ethic, financial management and tithing, relationships (marriage, family, friends), to name a few.

Living by principled conviction will not just help you, but also it will ensure that you are a safe influence to those around you. You can be a contaminating influence or you can be one that promotes, enhances and sustains progress.

It will require investment of time and energy. It will require sacrifice and re-ordering priorities. But the justification is this is for us and our future generations.

Dan Keo recommends asking yourself these questions:

1. One-year: What would have to be true in one year for you to know you’ve grown and matured? One concrete thing.

2. One-month: What would have to be true in one month for the one-year growth to remain possible?

3. Tomorrow: What are 2-3 actions you can do tomorrow that the person you’re becoming would do?

Goals are not really about achieving the result. They are about who you become in the process. Convictions are the critical infrastructure that enable, support, and sustain who you are becoming.

It’s time to upgrade your convictions.