Congruence

Eugene Peterson, the Pastor and Poet behind The Message Bible taught  me another new word! His personal desire is how to be a Pastor of his church and how to be a human being outside the church! Now this interests me very much applying this to my context, how to be a Leader in the market place and how to be a human in the world!

The word ‘congruence’ means “the outside matches the inside”. Living a life of congruence is when my words and actions align with the things I believe in my head! Whilst fascinated that I learnt a new word, I was reminded by Eugene a phrase people use to describe the same thing – “practice what you preach!” and it sure does ring a bell! We are so good at branding people who don’t practice what they preach as “hypocrites” and I am certainly one who does this often!

So it’s time for me to ask myself if my words and actions match up with my thoughts that roll around inside my head! This learning therefore teaches me that my life must be the lifelong practice of attending to the details of congruence – congruence between ends and means, congruence between what we do and the way we do it, congruence between what is written in Scripture and our living out what is written, congruence between preaching and living!

Interesting to learn also is that the opposite of this probably looks like “I’ve got my Christian life over here, my social life over there, my family life off over there, and my work life is here” and that this is not a divided house I certainly want to live in, knowing that in time, this house will not stand!!

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. – Ephesians 4:14