Fixers

I was running the other afternoon.  In southern GA.  Along the beach.  I’ve got my headphones in, and I’ve been running for ~1 mile.  I passed somebody who was walking the other direction on the sidewalk, and she started trying to have a conversation with me.  All I picked up was, “Did you know it’s hot out here?”

Nope.  Had no idea.

I’ve had people ask me if I knew I had a sunburn.  ”You should put more sunscreen on.”

I’ve had people tell me that my child is hungry.  Tired.  Cold.  Hot.  Ready to go.  Wants to stay.  Isn’t happy.

I’ve met with other leaders who, the moment we sit down, want to try to diagnose my leadership woes…even though we’ve never spoken before.

Ever met those people who try to fix everything?  I do.

It happens in small group, too.  You know the person I’m talking about. When a request is shared, they’re they first to offer a solution…not necessarily the first to offer to pray.

And for a long time, that bothered me.

But I’ve got a different perspective to offer.  I now see this “fixer” mentality as an extension of the cultural mandate (or creation mandate) given in Genesis 1:28:

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

In addition to God creating the earth, He gave man a directive: fill the earth and subdue it (this is what theologians refer to as the cultural mandate).  Rule over the earth on God’s behalf.  Bear the image of God by exercising dominion over the earth (just as God himself does).  This involves protecting, preserving, repairing, and promoting the health and wellbeing of living things here.  In short: make sure things work.

So when something is broken, it should bother us.  Whether that’s our house, our pet, our landscaping, the system of government that we find ourselves in, the systems of our organizations, or relationships with others, it should grate against something innate within us when we see brokenness.  Because it grates something within God himself.  And we are His image-bearers.  Which means that when we’re bothered by brokenness, our hearts are in alignment with our Creator.

The small group “fixer” has a heart that is beating like his Creator’s.  He sees something that’s not right, and immediately says, “I don’t like that this is broken.  Let’s fix it!”  Maybe she doesn’t go about it the right way.  Maybe he’s too brash in his desire to repair.  Maybe she comes across as offensive and unhelpful.  Probably their eagerness needs to be tempered with wisdom.  Probably they need to exercise grace.  Probably they need to be quicker to offer up prayers.  Probably they should be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19).

But their hearts are in the right place.  And we would do well to remember this.

Ever met a “fixer”?  Are you a “fixer”?