Your Spiritual Journey
Root Cause and Corrective Action
Root Cause and Corrective Action
One of the things that I do at work is called root cause and corrective action. Often it involves asking why five times to determine the real cause, and then addressing that with corrective actions to prevent a recurrence. However, you have to be careful how you apply it.
For example, why did I get cancer? Because the Devil hated me. Why did the Devil hate me? Because I was doing well in this life. Why did that matter to the Devil? Because I'm just like Job. Why did the Devil hate Job? Because he was faithful. Why does our faithfulness matter to the Devil? Because the Devil wants to hurt us to hurt God. Therefore, the root cause of my cancer was the Devil roaming this Earth trying to devour the Faithful.
Alternatively, why did I get cancer? Because I was exposed to weed killer. Why was I exposed to weed killer? Because I wanted to have a nice lawn. Why did a nice lawn require the use of weed killer? Because when I pulled up the dandelions they grew back. Why did the dandelions grow back? Because they have a tap root. Why do they have a tap root? Because God created them so animals can have something to eat without killing the plant. Therefore, I got cancer because, in my selfish desire to impress my neighbors, I was thwarting God's creative design.
It's challenging to think about how different the corrective action might be based on the root cause we attribute to our troubles. Do we need to be more steadfast in our faith, or do we need to stop using weed killer?
I pray that we can see the difference between the trouble that the devil may cause in our life and the troubles that we cause.
Andy
