It’s the Sin Stupid: part 2 of Cross Pollination

In the second part of our series on cross pollination I want to share with you how reading about Bill Clinton has helped me be a more repentant man (I know, that sounds difficult). Let me tell you the whole story:

When you’re reading a well written book, an author can get you to believe some really nutty stuff. It’s the same reason that Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons can be so convincing. This is why it’s so important to be a discerning reader. One method I find helpful to keep my mind discerning is to read several books at a time.

So I am reading ‘Made to Stick‘ and ‘Outgrowing the Ingrown Church‘ at the same time. One story about Bill Clinton’s campaign for president really stuck to my brain… Clinton cared so much about the issues that he was drilling all of his positions on all of the issues. James Carville, Clinton’s adviser, stepped in a gave him a very important nugget of wisdom—people can’t process everything at once, you need to boil it down for them. The resulting saying is , “It’s the economy, stupid!” People understood.

In the other book I’m reading, the author explains that the gospel can solve any problem, because the real problem in the world is sin. I often times blame problems on miscommunication, being tired, upbringing, etc. But the problem is sin, especially my sin.

When I mixed these two ideas together, I got the resulting phrase… “It’s the sin, stupid!”

This has been so helpful. When something happens at work that I don’t like… “It’s the sin, stupid!”

When I’m ticked at my wife… “It’s the sin stupid!”

When I get angry at the current political scene… “It’s the sin, stupid!”

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