According to Dr. Laurence Peter,  “In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.”  If I may put even a finer point to the theory, every institution is doomed to be led and managed by successive levels of unqualified individuals.

Thank God!

I know from personal experience that is frustrating and even demoralizing to be led or managed by someone whose incapability is obvious.  However, if everyone found their level of proficiency and remained staid in that position we would collectively perish of boredom.  No, it is far more interesting to be able to zig, zag, push, pull, step and climb to the highest place possible.  The summit of Everest would remain unexplored if we remained where the air was appropriate.

I believe this proficiency/possibility tension is really a God designed conundrum.  We are created capable and adaptable and insufficient.  It appears evident to me God allows us to be discontent so we have an interior motive to seek him and an interior reason to be humble before him.

In the beginning when the tree of the knowledge of good and evil occupied the center of the garden, God invited his creation to both desire more and to come to Him to fulfill that desire.  Our current sad state of affairs is the direct result of saying to God, “Nope, I got it.  I can do it myself.  I am qualified.”

We are not.

God’s design and invitation remains unchanged.  The promised resource of the Holy Spirit is powerful enough to take even the most inadequate individual up to accomplish extraordinary things again and again.

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. (1 Peter 5.6, NLT)

For the next couple of months, my friends at Main Street will be considering the principles Peter wrote about and attempting together to attain greater heights.