The Law of Requisite Variety

According to the law of requisite variety, the survival of any system depends on its capacity to cultivate variety in its internal structures. In other words, variety isn't just the spice of life. Variety is life. Without variety, we begin to die. And that isn't just true biologically. I think it's true spiritually. It's not just true of the human body. It's true of the body of Christ.
Let me translate the law of requisite variety into practical terms. If you exercise the same way every time you work out, your muscles will start adapting and stop growing. What you need to do is disorient your muscles by changing the sequence or alternating the exercises. Instead of bench press, try pushups. In other words, you need to add variety to your routine. Working out isn't enough. You need to mix up your workout. Otherwise, the routine becomes counterproductive.

The key to spiritual growth is developing healthy and holy routines. We call them spiritual disciplines. But once the routine becomes routine, we need to disrupt the routine or it becomes counterproductive. It's so easy for sacred routines to become empty rituals when we do them out of left-brain memory instead of right-brain imagination. I'm certainly not suggesting that routines are bad. Most of us practice a morning ritual that includes showering, brushing our teeth, and putting on deodorant and I would encourage you to continue those routines. But there is a Catch-22 when it comes to routines: good routines become bad routines if we don't change the routine.

One of the greatest dangers we face spiritually is learning how and forgetting why. Call it familiarization. Call it habituation. Call it routinization. The lack of variety in our personal devotions, or even church gatherings, dulls the senses, numbs the mind, and atrophies the soul. The routines, which were intended to bring life, can kill us spiritually by becoming a form of legalism.

I read a fascinating study a few years ago that suggested that people stop thinking about the lyrics of a song after singing it thirty times. I'm sure the numbers vary from person to person, but the tendency is universal. And it has profound implications when it comes to worship. I wonder if that's why the psalmist repeatedly said: "Sing to the Lord a new song." When we worship out of memory, our worship is like a broken record. We need new words, new postures, new thoughts, and new feelings. But the question is: how do we get them?

One key is making sure that the routine doesn't become routine. And that is one of the intangible responsibilities of leadership. Leaders don't let the routine become routine. They are always experimenting with new wineskins.

On a personal level, you've got to find ways to change your routines. One of the small changes in routine that has helped me rejuvenate my devotional times is picking up a new translation of Scripture. New words help me think new thoughts. If you typically read The Message, try out the King James. Or if you read the King James, try out the New Living Translation.

One of the recent routines that I have established is reading the Bible with my oldest son before he leaves for school. It's a short five-minute window, and we're both still waking up, but it may be the most important five minutes of my day. I say that to say this: small changes in routine can make a huge cumulative difference in your life.

On a corporate level, it can be as simple as changing your order of service every now and then. At National Community Church, we sometimes do worship before the message to prepare people to hear the word. But there are times that worship is more effective as a response to the message. That little change in the order of service disrupts the routine and adds variety to our services. We also work hard to add creative elements to our services. Think of them as an "element of surprise." And that keeps the routine from becoming routine!

So here's my advice:

First of all, reexamine your routines. Is it possible that a good routine has become too routine? How can you disrupt the routine? You don't need to make big changes or lots of changes. A little variety will go a long way!

 

 

4 Comments »

1. Great perspective. You put in to words what I have known intuitively, that variety is life-giving, but haven’t articulated as well. Thanks for the fresh thoughts and timely reminder.

   Comment by Scott LaRue - Dec 09, 2010 @ 04:40 PM

2. Excellent article and very timely, maybe even ‘overduely’. Read a statement a while back as it applies to worship services: “The greater the predictability, the less the impact” (or something like that). Thanks for the challenge to consider receiving permission from the creative Spirit of God to be a creative spirit from God in e-ffecting environments that are catalytic (love how I got our host in there?) for relevant impact and meaningful change.

   Comment by Jonathan Scott - Dec 10, 2010 @ 08:36 AM

3. This is so true! I love a good routine; I am an organized, recovering perfectionist so trust me on this. However, I have discovered that a relationship with God has to be dynamic. Yes, you can meet God in the same way every day and that is good…you should! However, as with any relationship, you have to meet God in some other way and sometimes it seems really strange. Don’t abandon your daily routine with God, but don’t leave it there, be prepared for some sort of “surprise” meeting with God throughout the day. Be flexible and open to the moving of the Spirit. Good post, Mark. Let me just say that your book, “In a Pit with a Lion…” is something God used to launch my desire to pursue leadership not just as an abstract possibility but as concrete reality. I was able to find the courage to do something unlike me and God worked powerfully! I have been doing this ever since.

   Comment by Willie Mac - Dec 14, 2010 @ 12:16 PM

4. Mark- I love your thoughts on requisite variety and especially how you have adapted it to a person’s spiritual life.  As much as I crave routine and attempt to create more structure and predictability in my life, it is during the times of transition and change that I learn the most about myself and the most about God.  I am learning to value change as just as valuable if not more so than stability.  Thanks for your inspiring words

   Comment by Andrew Mercer - Jan 02, 2011 @ 03:23 PM

Sorry, but commenting is no longer available for this post.