A TKO PERSONAL MOMENT

From My Perspective - - - 

In the professional sport of Boxing, a TKO is not necessarily a good thing. It means that the Referee has stopped a mobbing match because one of the fighters is no longer capable of defending himself. It can also mean that a person has received a cut or injury during the match that makes it unwise to continue. Whatever the case may be, the TKO represents a Technical Knockout of an individual. Life in general has TKO moments. One may not have been pummeled by an opponent nor incapacitated by an injury sustain - but - in the sense that his/her level of competency is not equal to a task at hand. This is often glibly referred to as the Peter Principle.

What exactly is The Peter Principle? It basically means: “The Peter Principle was first observed by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and published in his book, The Peter Principle in 1968. Dr. Peter also states that a promotion to the higher-ranking job position may not necessarily reveal the employee's incompetence, but rather the new position may require different skills the employee does not possess. Dr. Peter sums up the Peter Principle with the saying: the cream rises until it sours. The Peter Principal can be a problem for businesses which can be solved through continued education. Even with proper employee training, the Peter Principal predicts the employee will eventually get to a position where they are incompetent because of further promotion.” An amplification of this principle states: “An observation that in an organizational hierarchy, every employee will rise or get promoted to his or her level of incompetence. The Peter Principle is based on the notion that employees will get promoted as long as they are competent, but at some point will fail to get promoted beyond a certain job because it has become too challenging for them. Employees rise to their level of incompetence and stay there. Over time, every position in the hierarchy will be filled by someone who is not competent enough to carry out his or her new duties.”

The sermon at the church service we attended was based on a TKO concept. The text was Psalm 119:97-109. The outline of the sermon focused on the Word of God and one’s approach to it. The three points were: (1) Treasure It; (2) increase Knowledge from it; and (3) Obey it. I thought of this in terms of the cultural malaise in which we are living. How did we become what and who we are in our culture and society? Is their anything that can be done to prevent further erosion of Judeo-Christian values and principles? Who is responsible for the prevailing conditions today? These questions and many more crossed my mind as I thought about how the Church and the Christian is being neutralized and marginalized. The other thought is in terms of preparation and anticipation. Does any of the prevailing cultural and societal demise come as a surprise to God? 

In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus spoke of a day of great deception when He said in Matthew 24:22-26, “And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.” Paul echoes a similar thought when he writes in II Timothy 3:1-5, “understand…in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” Somewhere and somehow, there needs to be a resuscitation of those who are supposed to be salt and light amid a decadent culture and society. Will you assume that role and identity or will you continue as a TKO person - unable or unwilling to continue in the conflict? Consider these things with me!