All Things Degenerate

The Ordinariate just changed our email provider for all clergy and staff. We have the same email addresses, but a new system that they are working with. I will try my best not to complain about the choice of a corporate system instead of one of the many open source systems run by people who care about more than just a paycheck (but it is really very hard).

The issue is this: much of this new system is set up to protect against spam, viruses, and security issues. Imagine for a moment what our technology would look like if we were not constantly worried about new and inventive ways to steal and harm. Imagine how simple our work would be if we did not need passwords, and authentications, and quarantine reports.

Work is, in itself, corrupted in a fallen world. This is not just because of the sinfulness of men, but also because the nature of the fact that all things degenerate; nothing naturally gets better (contrary to the science fiction story called evolution). We live in a world where things break down, machines get fouled up, people get diseases, and the best technology we come up with cannot handle our own sinfulness. Only when the grace of God intervenes do things improve.

No work is immune to this. Everything we do in this world has "glitches" and needs repairs at times. If we enter into our work with that realization, then it allows us to see it differently. We see it as "the best we can do" rather than "a hopeless endeavor". How do you view your work? Is it always needing to be fixed and adjusted? Is it a constant uphill battle with some things? That is what it means to live in this time before the eternal state.

Having the right heart about our fallenness can make a world of difference in whether our work frustrates us, or whether we see it is a broken tool that only God can use to sanctify us. Whatever work you do (at home, or in a business of some sort), is teaching you to long for eternity and to learn lessons from the fallen state of this world. We are not made to live here in fallenness forever. We are made to live in eternal peace with Christ; where there are no passwords, security systems, or upgrades. The eternal state is perfect.