out of sight, out of mind

I have noticed lately that I drive across bridges differently. I look under bridges more than I used to. I find myself wondering about the infrastructure of these massive spans of roadway upon which I have grown accustomed and until now have never questioned. After the August 1st collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, my sense of awareness has changed.

It may be months or even years before the full story of why the actual mechanics of the bridge failed on that terrible day, but one thing is clear- there was not enough attention paid to infrastructure. Of course, it sounds like an understatement- but a bridge is only as good as it's underlying structure.

Yesterday the Memphis airport was shut down because of outdated communications equipment, stranding air travellers all over the country. The news report I heard blamed the federal aviation infrastructure as being way behind the curve, and went on to say that these kinds of events will only get worse until the problem is dealt with.

Popular Mechanics magazine recently made this observation:

The fact is that Americans have been squandering the infrastructure legacy bequeathed to us by earlier generations. Like the spoiled offspring of well-off parents, we behave as though we have no idea what is required to sustain the quality of our daily lives. Our electricity comes to us via a decades-old system of power generators, transformers and transmission lines—a system that has utility executives holding their collective breath on every hot day in July and August. We once had a transportation system that was the envy of the world. Now we are better known for our congested highways, second-rate ports, third-rate passenger trains and a primitive air traffic control system. Many of the great public works projects of the 20th century—dams and canal locks, bridges and tunnels, aquifers and aqueducts, and even the Eisenhower interstate highway system—are at or beyond their designed life span. ...

...According to a report card released in 2005 by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 160,570 bridges, or just over one-quarter of the nation’s 590,750-bridge inventory, were rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The nation’s bridges are being called upon to serve a population that has grown from 200 million to over 300 million since the time the first vehicles rolled across the I-35W bridge. Predictably that has translated into lots more cars. American commuters now spend 3.5 billion hours a year stuck in traffic, at a cost to the economy of $63.2 billion a year.

By now you have likely anticipated my obvious spiritual parallels to all of this. Jesus once asked, "What good does it do for you to gain the entire world and lose your own soul?" (Mark 8:36).

I often find in my own life that I have become like the whited sepulchre about which Jesus impugned the pharisee. My life can become like dry bone, if I am not intent on looking into it. My life, like a bridge, is only as good as it's underlying structure.

Truly, the spiritual life is a call to discipline. We honor God by how we take care of it. My spiritual life has an infrastructure that is rarely seen but needs careful attention nonetheless. If I am not engaged in it with determined regularity, the bolts and joints and hinges begin to creak and the bridge begins to sway.

Most of the issues we deal with internally can be summed up in one word- neglect. Out of sight and out of mind is a dangerous attitude not just for physical infrastructure.

All of this to say that I would love for you to go with me through the spiritual exercise and discipline of a 42 day discipleship program we are introducing to our church on Wednesday night, October 17 called "Join the Journey". You can register here.