Does that describe you? Unfortunately it often does not describe me. I seem to struggle with fear, especially in relation to bad news. Often this takes the form of just waiting for (expecting actually) something bad to happen. Can you relate to this? Sometimes it just seems like too many things are going well and so I am waiting for the bad news. Other times it is recognizing that even as bad things happen, something worse could always happen. So, I am not content in either case because I am waiting for the bad news.

Psalm 112:6-7 says,

For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Now, the bad news :) is that I am not righteous in myself. I am quite unrighteous if left to my own devices. The good news is that Jesus has taken my sin upon Himself and I am therefore righteous, perfectly righteous. How amazing is that? In thinking about my own unrighteousness, I am reminded that my trust is not in my own actions to make me righteous, but rather my trust is in the One who has made me righteous. He has taken the worst thing about me, my sin that would prevent me from being with God, and He has perfectly covered it all. Now I have complete access to God. What kind of “bad news” could possibly make me afraid if I am thinking and living this way?

When I think of my Savior, my heart is firm. I know Him and what He has done. What could I possibly fear. He has given me everything I need. To quote an old Hymn we sang this last Sunday at Crossroads, “It is Well With My Soul.” Bad news doesn’t have to scare me, it can help me to lean on, trust in, my loving Savior.

Thanks for the bad news.

Can you pay me to study Scripture for 10,000 hours, please? It will make me the best and God would be more glorified!
But seriously, that is not exactly the point of the chapter, is it? It seems like the point, though. We all want to be the “best” at what we do. Are we willing and able to devote the time required? WILLING and ABLE, that really is the point, isn’t it? But the fact is that many people are not willing or able to work this hard at any one thing. If these were the only factors, then anyone who had nothing else to do (in other words could afford to spend the time) and actually wanted to get better at a specific thing could become one of the best in the world. I think we all naturally believe something else must be involved.

But, I enjoyed this chapter because it was interesting. I like reading about how much time certain people are able to devote to their passions. Do I have anything that drives me that much? On the other hand, I think many of us like this chapter because it fosters justification in our minds that people who are better than us are not really better, they just had more opportunity. That is probably a good reason why many like this whole book. It can foster that kind of thinking. How sinful am I that I want to lower others rather than celebrate what God has given in ability? I do not think that this is Gladwell’s point, but I think it is one reason people like me will like the message.

So, what is Gladwell’s point?  Natural ability only accounts for a portion of why some people are successful. Opportunity plays a bigger part than we realize. The name of the chapter, The Ten Thousand Hour Rule, highlights the point by teaching us that if someone has the opportunity to practice something for 10,000 hours, they at least have the possibility to be better than most. If you do not practice for this amount, you will not be the best. So what do you think about this? It seems like a struggle for me considering God’s gifting. In fact, when Gladwell raises the question of innate talent, I struggle. God tells us that he gifts certain people to be able to do certain things. How would this idea fit into Gladwell’s presentation? I think I need to reflect on this a bit more. What do you think about the idea?

Lastly, what about “luck?” What are we to do with that concept as followers of Christ who controls all things? If God truly does control all things, how do we view things like luck? I would love your comments.

Thanks for following along. See you next time.

I know I need to watch this video often. I thought you might like it too, ya know?

Enjoy!

Summary and Review:
Malcolm Gladwell is diving into another subject and redefining (or at least trying to redefine) how we think about it. In the past he has addressed “fads” in The Tipping Point and “quick thinking” in Blink. This time around he is thinking about what makes the most successful people so successful. Is it something inherent in them or some other factors that we don’t think about? I enjoy his books. He writes about topics that I would not normally read about, but he makes them interesting. This book, so far, is having the same effect. I am sucked in. I want to find out what he thinks about each of these successful people. I don’t always find that I agree, but it is always a fun, thoughtful ride.

Roseto, Pennsylvania is where we start (probably haven’t heard much about that town before). The whole town is an outlier: something that stands out from the normal. Roseto stands out because people are not dying from heart disease or any of the normal health problems. They are just dying of old age. The real question is why. Is it diet? No. How about exercise? Nope. It has to be genetics or location. No and, um, no! What is it? Community! The people in this town lived together in such a way that they actually helped prevent many of our current health problems. Gladwell states, “…the values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are.” I say, amen. Community matters.

Chapter 1 takes us into the world of hockey and I am still engaged. Now that is a feat! (Sorry all you hockey fans out there.) I enjoy watching an occasional game, but it is not a sport I regularly flock to. The question is: how do you become successful at hockey? Obviously it is your individual merit. How you personally do at the sport has to be the main contributor to your success, right? Not so fast. What about the cut off dates for leagues and the fact that we decide so early who is going to be better? Do we give unfair advantages to some and take opportunities away from others? Intrigued? Read the book for a full understanding.

I really like the fact that Gladwell is addressing the temptation to “worship” those who are successful, showing that other factors outside of their sheer awesomeness can and do help them to succeed. I also like the desire to stand up against injustice by asking for change. But, all is not well with the book. It is a problem that God is taken out of the equation before we even start. That causes problems for me as a Christian. God is involved in everything, even who is and who is not successful. There will be more on that topic in future posts, but for now I will stop.

So I have some questions to ponder:
1. How does God impact what Gladwell is presenting? How should Christians respond?
2. Is it unfair that some are given helps and others are not? Is this something that “needs” to be changed?
3. The whole idea of this chapter has been dubbed the “Matthew Effect.” This is based on Matthew 25:29. Is that faithful to the passage?
4. What do you think of the suggestions that Gladwell gives in section 5 of this chapter?
5. How does the gospel of Jesus Christ impact our thinking in this area?

Take one of these or several and comment on them so that we can think it through together. I have some thoughts, but will wait a couple of days to post them in the comments section.
Thanks for reading and join us in discussing the topic.

Note: I am reading this book on my Kindle. What that means for this discussion is that I will not be able to give you specific page numbers for quotes. What I will do is indicate the section that is quoted. Fortunately this book is divided up well. I hope this is not a major problem. Thanks for understanding.

This is a simple reminder that we will start our discussion of Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell one week from today. If you plan on reading it with us, pick up a copy as soon as you can and read the introduction and chapter 1. That is where we are going to start our discussion.

next week will be an exciting one here on the blog. Keep reading!

See you then.