Measuring things accurately can be very helpful and an incorrect measurement can lead to disaster. I saw many students create food that was inedible because of faulty measuring. I have been late for important meetings because of my inability to measure time and distance. And I have messed up more than one home project because I failed to measure a piece of pipe or a hole in the wall or the length of rope that was needed.
I think we all like to measure things and find satisfaction in our soul when we get it right: when the bread is just right, the check book balances, when the screw lines up with the hole that we drilled for it.
I think this desire to measure, our sense of satisfaction when it is done well and how helpful it is leads to try and measure things that really can’t be measured. I think this is true in education where we try and measure how much students are learning. I think it is often true in mental heath as we try and measure how sane people are. (The fact that the DMR is in its fourth addition may be a clue to the difficulty of this task).
I constantly find myself wanting to measure my effectiveness of the work I am doing. I believe that there is no real way to measure this. It is a mysterious work. It is what God is doing at any given time and he often keeps things hidden so that we don’t take credit for what He is doing.
However, believing these things does not keep me from wanting to count people and money (the easiest way to measure “ministry”). Every week I see “signs” that I am doing a good job and feel a sense of pride. And every week I see “signs” that I am a failure and should resign and find a new line of work. It is a choice which of the “signs” I look at and how I interpret them. It is important to look at the negative “signs” and ask myself if there are adjustments that I need to make. It is also important to look at the positive signs and thank God for what He is doing. However, it is wrong and unhealthy to focus too much on either. God has called us to be faithful not successful.
My prayer for you, and myself, is that we would always give glory to God for what He is doing. I pray that I would always be honest about what needs to change in my life and not be afraid of making adjustments. I also pray that I would always know that this is His work and He has called me to be faithful not successful.