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Home » Everyday Leadership, Featured

Are Your Windows Broken?

Submitted by James Higginbotham on August 4, 2009 – 4:31 amNo Comment

The Broken Window Theory is based on an article titled “Broken Windows” by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, which appeared in the March 1982 edition of The Atlantic Monthly:

Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it’s unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside.

Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars.

The book’s authors suggest that fixing problems when they are small will prevent bigger problems from emerging.

I think it is a good idea to reflect on our own lives to determine if we have broken windows that need to be repaired. Perhaps we have strayed a little more than we have in the past. Perhaps we are letting a little more of the world dominate our time and tear us away from God than we should. Perhaps our ministry has taken up the “good enough” stance a little too much recently.

Whatever it is, it may be time to fix those broken windows, before we begin to accumulate litter in our lives and our team.

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