What if we practiced "open source living." Everyday I am trying to be the best I can be, but unfortunately I do that from a skewed, biased perspective. If you ask me, I am a pretty good guy, talented, intelligent and if you are over 50, I am not to hard on the eyes (and yes there is a little ego there). What if I allowed others to contribute to my pursuit of perfection - yes there are risks, but let me share three thoughts with you about "Open Source Living."
- We already allow others to impact our "programming." We read self-help books, hire trainers, dietitians, even medical professionals to advise us how to have a better life. Some of us consult with counselors, preachers or friends in areas we need improvement. Still, we can be very protective in this area, even when we seek advice and improvement.
- Your life has certain open source elements already. There are people who talk to us and about us with or without permission. They comment on our shoes and on our work-ethic. They make judgments about our moral conduct and our parenting skills. People are trying to write chapters into our lives whether we want them too or not.
- So what if we take a Wikipedia approach to life. Here is Trent version 1.0. Make your edits, your changes, and your contributions. Once you are finished, I will go back and edit the results in an effort to retain accuracy (and my overly active ego). Folks are going to talk about me anyway, how about I give them permission to do it to my face.
Trent Wheeler
3 comments:
The secret to open source isn't so much the transparency of the code (though that helps) but the fact that everyone contributes, tests and lives with the failures and the successes. Collaboration in a shared goal is the secret sauce. Any initiative should be based on true meritocracy (those who are spiritual as opposed to me who likes to think I'm spiritual but in truth I'm more hypocritical). That's why Paul encourages us to pray for one another and bear each others burdens--we collaborate (Acts 4:32 ff for real--not the watered down capitalist version). So, I'll pray for you if you'll pray for me. The only caveat is we both need to be open to whatever the Spirit reveals...
Great stuff Ed. I hope for more comments. I am not always open to criticisms like I should be, but after reading Jarvis book it struck me that it would be an intersting experiment to open my life to community and see if they can do some productive reprogramming.
I always appreciate your insights and certainly praying for each others is a great first start.
I have read most (if not all) of your posts and the thing that stands out to me is that you are very willing to admit to your faults. That to me is the first step towards change. Yes, we need other Christians to help us on our way but some of the responsibility lies on our shoulders. I appreciate your attitudes and thoughts.
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