Adaptability 1.0
Is the Character of Adaptability and
Flexibility working in you?
One definition of adaptability is the ability to adjust oneself readily to different conditions; the ability of an entity or organism to alter itself or its responses to the changed circumstances or environment.
I think Christ was a classic quintessential example of adaptability: The Son of God also became the Son of Man. The Apostle Paul added some practicum to the subject of adaptability and flexibility when he wrote to the church saying: “…I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life…”
By being malleable, we are able to see how others can help and challenge us. We can see how everyone in our lives is placed there, by God, for a particular reason and season. With eyes wide open, we might even be able to see how God works and uses various people to touch our lives, and how we touch their lives.
I wrote four, (feel free to add others, I’m sure there are many more) tools or fruits of adaptability and flexibility:
- Adaptability is an important and necessary quality
- Adaptability means being willing to be fashioned -- or refashioned
- Adaptability often requires humility
- Adaptability requires yielding your will and mind to God and His plans
Too churchy for you? Got it. Consider this TedTalk by venture capitalist and investor Natalie Fratto. In determining which start-up company to support, she doesn't just look for intelligence or charisma; she looks for adaptability. Checkout this insightful talk — Fratto shares three ways to measure your "adaptability quotient" -- and shows why your ability to respond to change really matters.
Peace…