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How Much Are You Leaning?  “For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.” Romans 7:18 (NET) This week marks eight years since a group of Italian architects, engineers, and construction teams finished a massive renovation project. Their job was to repair all manner of damage to a building that was over seven centuries old. Local officials appointed a group of 14 archeologists, architects and soil experts to plan and carry out the repairs. After 11 years the diverse team finally finished with its daunting project. Over 27 million dollars were spent on the project -- protecting the lean of the leaning tower of Pisa. By the time that the project began, the tower, which is almost 200 feet tall and composed primarily of white marble, was off center by at least 15 feet. The lengthy and expensive undertaking to repair damages to the tower that culminated in 2001 was considered a success by the local authorities because the industrious coalition of workers was able to reduce the lean of the tower by a good 16 to 17 inches. As incredible as it seems, the goal was never to straighten the tower, but to enable the famous “Leaning Tower of Pisa” to list over 13 feet for a few hundred more years. The town of Pisa’s famous tower is known around the world because of its famous lean, to the point that the town now wants to protect what really is a tremendous monument to failed engineering and poor planning. As men, most of us like to construct or destruct things. Despite our own best efforts, more often than not our projects end up unfinished or looking like a tower off by 15 feet. There is no place where this is truer that in our spiritual walk. We can plan, and work, and do our best, but our best isn’t really good enough. This is important because as men we tend to be task-oriented, and often our expectations for ourselves and others (particularly our wives) lack grace. Instead of being characterized by understanding and compassion, we can become hard and prickly without ever stopping to realize that we also fall short of who and what we should be – 100% of the time. Maybe the next time we find ourselves lacking understanding, or thinking that we are really better than we are, we should look in the mirror and realize that we, too, are leaning. Staff Writer: Aaron Sharp |
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