Cause and (...delay...) Effects

One of the principles of system dynamics is "Cause and Effect are Rarely Located Close in Time or Space."

I notice this as I steward our yard. (That's a fancy way to saying, "water, mow, fertilize, and weed," while sounding more noble and Christian-y :-)

The weeds grow faster and taller and more pervasively when there hasn't been enough water, when the sun has been broiling, and where some animal was digging up the grass to get who-knows-what. But the weeds come later than the conditions which gave them the opportunity to germinate and grow. There's a significant delay. Weeds are a tell-tale sign, symptoms if you will, of problems that started days and weeks earlier. Weeds are a lagging indicator of lawn health.

If it looks like dandelions sprouted up overnight, it's because I wasn't paying attention for a few days. Note: Mushrooms can appear in a few hours, but that's another phenomenon, different than dandelion growth.

Doing the right things (watering, fertilizing) to help the grass have delayed effects as well. It takes some time for the grass to respond to the positive environment factors. Green grass is a lagging indicator of work I put in days and weeks ago.

One of my friends, who has a turf management degree, has told me that the best way to stop weeds in your yard is to foster such a rich growth of grass that there is no room for weeds.

Weed seeds are opportunistic. They might be present for a very long time and not germinate.

There are cause and effect delays in relationships, too.

My relationship with God through Christ, because it's a growth phenomenon, needs tending. It needs some work on my part. God is faithful, omnipresent, but I have tendencies to wander off and shortchange our relationship. Daily investment in studying His Word, and prayer, and serving others with the gifts He provides are each helpful in strengthening our relationship. Now I can go a day or two without these, and perhaps not even notice much right away -- because of the delayed effect. But it's only a question of how long the delay and how serious the effect.

Likewise my family relationships need tending. My pastor says, "There are only two kinds of marriages -- those being worked on, and those that aren't." Cause and effect works in marriages, as well. And it can be seen in our relationships with siblings, parents, co-workers, and friends.

I encourage you to think today about cause and effect in your relationships. What steps do you need to take to get rid of damaging weeds? And what steps do you need to take to create a God-honoring environment which has few if any places for opportunistic weeds to thrive?