Maintenance. Maintenance Mode. Maintenance Man. Maintaining the ‘status quo’. There is simply zero inspiration exuding from the idea of maintaining. No one wants to simply maintain their current income; they want a raise. No one wants to wake up Christmas morning and hear ‘this year we get the joy of just keeping everything we already have! Nothing new for you this year!’’ To maintain almost carries the same connotation as ‘losing ground.’ Truly, there are areas of life where you can not simply hold your position; you’re either moving forward or backing up. However, because of this prominent example we loose the real value of maintaining.
Few people enjoy the idea of performing regular maintenance on their car but everyone wants their car to run smoothly every time they get in it to go somewhere (especially at the holidays). Few people look forward to dusting everything in their home but everyone likes to come home to a well kempt retreat. Maintenance is the thing that few people get excited about but everyone misses when it is absent. Maintenance is work. Usually, it is hard work, tedious, thankless work. It is for these reasons that few get excited about the concept of maintenance. Working hard to keep things exactly the way they are seems, to most people, like wasted effort. After all, if you’re going to put forth such effort, move things forward! In truth, when you maintain things long enough, you ARE moving forward. Let me give you some examples…
The value of an antique is generally tied to how well it has been preserved or maintained. A cool, old car is one thing. A cool, old car that still runs like new is extremely valuable. A really old baseball card is intriguing. A really old baseball card in mint-condition might pay for your kids to go to college. Where does this ‘invisible value’ come from? The equity shows up because of the ongoing maintenance. The person that cared for their yard through the drought and kept the house painted and in good repair didn’t look like they were adding a lot of value. They were just protecting the value that was already there. Ironically, in protecting the current value they created more value over time through the unexciting activity of maintenance. The same is true about your life.
There is a reason we are so blessed by the senior couples holding hands as they walk down the street. Is it because they are so smart or so wealthy? Not necessarily. It’s because after all these years they are still together and loving each other. That didn’t just happen. There were difficult days but there was enough ongoing maintenance of the relationship to keep it alive and well into the golden years. Some times you can feel like you’ve plateaued. It can be in a relationship, or in a hobby or a discipline. Perhaps the most forward-thinking, groundbreaking thing you can do is to just not go backwards. Maintain that date night, even if it’s a bore. Maintain that prayer time, even when it is dry and empty. Treading water can seem daunting but if you simply maintain your position long enough, help can come to you. (read that again)
I’m all for new ideas and want to be one of those that constantly looks to move things forward. However, I don’t want to buy into the idea that maintenance is wasted time and energy. I pray you won’t either.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
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