Grounded To Grow

Personal Growth is a multi-gajillion (give or take a few) dollar industry. We often see the following sentiments blurted out across social media…

“I’m focused on my growth these days…”

Or…

“The growth that I’ve achieved from XYZ has been amazeballs.”

(BTW, why is ‘amazeballs’ not cool anymore?)

We get ravenous about ‘growth’. And I get it. Our intentions are good. But, like anything with good intentions, we must keep a sharp eye on them.

Most of what we do when we focus on growth is we try to climb various ladders. Could be a ladder of financial success, optimal health, intellect, etc.

And the thing is, the more we strive to climb those ladders — well — how should I say this?…

…The bigger assholes we turn into.

Now, climbing a ladder is different from growing. It’s artificial.

Here’s the thing…

Humans don’t grow things. Sure, we can plant things in good soil, provide ample water, light, etc. But growth is purely divine.

Have you ever tried making a seedling grow faster? Dudn’t work. There comes a point where our human abilities stop.

So it is with our ‘personal growth’.

We cannot grow ourselves.

We think we can. But we will reach a point where our capabilities… Cease. And this can be frustrating if we don’t understand this dynamic.

You and I have been planted here on Earth against our will. Like any good gardener, God planted us to grow. We can only pretend like this isn’t true.

As a Christian, my tradition grounds me in the ‘gospel’ of Christ. This ‘gospel’ is the ‘good news’ of an eternal divine promise that says God’s love for me is not based on what I do/don’t do. Rather, it’s based on the fact that God breathed me into existence and sustains me BECAUSE God’s nature is love. Always. I cannot out-sin the coverage of this love.

This is my grounding. A tree cannot grow from a seed unless it is well grounded.

Now, ‘grounded’ can seem like ‘simplistic’.

“I’m a grounded person,” can be an excuse to say no to the growth that God is calling us into.

A plant can’t say no to growth (or death, but that’s for another post) nor can it grow faster than it does. It can only rest in knowing it has been grounded to grow.

And so it is with you and me.

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This post was previously published on Jonas Ellison’s blog and is republished here with permission from the author.

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From The Good Men Project on Medium

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