Outliers

I recently finished listening to a book my sister-in-law gave me on CD called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.  After listening to the full set of CDs I was rather discouraged until I listened to the interview at the end of the set and had an insight.

To understand my insight in context I have to tell you a little about the book.  Outliers are those things which fall outside the majority of the responses to something.  So if you were a anomaly to the rest of the statistics you would be an outlier.  Outliers give managers statistics to look at to determine if there is validity to the outlier or if it was just a fluke.

In Gladwell's book he talks about how most professional hockey players were born in the early part of the year.  That is because of the cutoff date for kids to play hockey in different leagues.  If you were born in December and not January, you would miss the cutoff date and wouldn't have the opportunities to excel in hockey as a kid growing up through the ranks of hockey clubs.  You might be a good hockey player but you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the best clubs for your age, have the opportunity to play a lot or attend the best camps.  Just the date of your birth would close some of the opportunities for you to develop.

He also used Bill Gates as an example.  He was born into a comfortable family and had a unusual opportunity to have access to a computer in 1968 for unlimited time.  It was a rare experience.  There were universities and professionals who didn't have the exposure to unlimited computer time like he had as a teenager.  Others who have excelled in the computing field were born around the same time.

The Beatles spent a number of years playing in German clubs, 8 hours a day, 7 days a week.  You have to develop skills as a musician with that much playing time.  When they hit the big time they were experienced musicians with way more practice time than most garage bands.

After listening to this book I came away rather discouraged because it left me feeling that if I wasn't born in the right time and had the right opportunities, I was just going to be average.

But the insight that came when listening to the interview at the end of the book changed all that.

Who determines when we are going to be born?  If I read the Scriptures correctly we aren't born because of the whim or decision of even our parents.  We often hear people talk about "accidents" or "surprise" pregnancies.  But the Scriptures refute that.  We are born when we are born and to whom we are born at the will of the Father.  In fact, to make it more clear He tells us in Ephesians that He thought of us before the foundations of the world.  We were not a mistake and our lives are not a random thing.  We were born when the Father wanted us to be born.

In carrying that a little farther, the Father determines what experiences we have in life.  It is He who exposes us to the opportunities He wants us to have.  In fact, even as we exercise our own free will, making decisions that thwart the Father's design on our lives, He can redeem that diversion.  He can use it for our good.

So we were born into the family the Father ordained.  The experiences we had there, even the bad ones, can shape us and draw us to the Father for redemption of those sins committed against us.  Our birth and those life experiences are not random, determined by someone else.  They are under the Father's loving control of our lives.

I had to repent this week.  I believe God got me the job I have in DC.  It didn't come because of someone else's influence or pull.  And I'm going to leave DC until the Father takes me out of there.  It's not up to someone's whim whether I stay or not.  My life is controlled by the Father.  He opens the doors and He shuts them.  Can someone or something stand in the way of God's will?  Of course.  But again, He can redeem it.  He can open another door.

God provided a place for me to live in the DC area.  The guy I am staying with and I first met in...grade school.  We were friends in high school and were active in the same church youth group.  We kept in touch with each other periodically over the years but I only saw him face-to-face once in 45 years.  Now he is providing a home for me and companionship while I have to live away from Pat.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.  His open heart to me was a part of God's provision for me after 50 years.

Our vision of the circumstances of our lives determine how we take advantage of the opportunities.  What has the Father exposed you to?  What unique experiences have you had that make you an "outlier"?  What circumstances has the Father set up just for you to fulfill His call on your life?  It's never too late to fulfill His heart's desire for you.