Getting to the source of the problem

Yes, we live in troubled times. But hang on a minute! Haven’t we always lived in troubled times? Isn’t the history of the world a litany of troubles? And the present Covid pandemic isn’t the only unprecedented challenge to exercise the collective minds of politicians and experts.
Trouble comes in all shapes, colours and sizes. Indeed, a space boffin working at the NASA Space Programme facility in the US tells of a colleague who was asked to prepare a presentation on lessons learned from their bad experiences with the Hubble Space Telescope. On his chart at the briefing, lesson No.1 read: “In naming your mission, never use a word that rhymes with trouble.” 

And in a rueful reflection on the origin of trouble, someone once said that if you could kick the backside of the person responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for two weeks. 
But is that a bit harsh? Do we really create most of the problems we face, ourselves?

Well, we don’t always look for the simplest and most obvious answer to issues confronting us. Last week I noticed an oily substance pooled around the back tyre of my motorcycle. Not good! I immediately suspected the oil-seal between the differential and the back wheel. So, I asked the local motorcycle dealer to order a new one. While waiting for the part, I inspected the area more closely and came to the conclusion that perhaps the culprit was something else – perhaps a defective washer under the oil-filler plug on the diff. But after eliminating that suspect too, I latched onto a small o-ring seal on a brake fitting. So, I sourced a new one and fitted that. At which point, logic and a closer examination, suggested the source of the oil residue was higher than this, so once again my conclusions as to the source of the leak were wrong.
More detective work followed – and in a flash of inspiration, the real culprit was tracked down and nabbed: A leaking bottle of injector-cleaner I’d carelessly left in a fairing pocket directly above the differential!
Yes, we’re often inclined to jump to conclusions, blame the wrong thing – or person – for a perceived problem, and fail to consider the simplest and most obvious cause.
Jesus addressed this human weakness in a dramatic and colourful way when pointing to the problem of hypocrisy. “Why do you see the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” he said. Those listening must have been astonished at this. He then suggested it would be a better idea to remove the plank from our own eye, so as to see more clearly to remove the speck of sawdust in our brother’s eye.
In my own experience, I’ve found the simplest and most obvious solution to a problem has to do with me – with my attitude and my willingness to see either how I’ve contributed to the problem – or jumped too quickly to erroneous conclusions. And I’m sure that these tendencies are one of the main reasons we tend keep God at arms length. We’re just too quick to ignore the solutions he proffers – and then blame him for things that go wrong. Instead, we should consider our own failure to see that a close relationship with God makes us stronger – and life itself much, much better.