What's the Worst That Can Happen?

A great one-liner has been used by actors, politicians, meditation teachers, and many others. Perhaps you've heard it before. "Don't just do something. Stand there!"

Of course, we chuckle a little bit because it reverses the better-known formulation of "Don't just stand there! Do something!"

But its counter-intuitive message is useful.

When we experience a problem, we usually want to do something. This instinct can be worthwhile.

If we start bleeding, we need to wash it and get a band-aid. If we're running late to a meeting, we should let the other person know. If we are in an airport and see unattended luggage, we can say something.

But doing more can also hurt rather than help. When we do less, we make room for others to do more.

Learning Life’s Lessons

Parents know you can't solve all your kids’ problems. You want really want to help them, but you know the best thing you can do is help them figure it out themselves.

Doing more also leads to unexpected consequences. Perhaps you recall the biblical story of Joseph.

In the book of Genesis, Joseph is sold by his brothers to traveling slavers. He ends up in Egypt, where he is thrown in prison.

In prison, he is recognized for his ability to interpret dreams, and he successfully reveals to the Pharoah the meaning of two of his most troubling dreams.

He also tells Pharaoh how to solve the problem revealed by the dreams, and Pharaoh recognizes Joseph's plan will save Egypt from destructive famine.

So Pharaoh appoints him Prime Minister, and in his role, Joseph ends up bringing his entire family from their famine-stricken homeland to safety and prosperity in Egypt. Joseph not only saves Egypt but his family as well.

Didn’t See That Coming

But what happens next? The Book of Exodus opens by telling us that "There arose a Pharoah who knew not Joseph."

Instead of remembering and celebrating Joseph's contribution to Egypt, the new Pharaoh fears Joseph's descendants. The Israelites are stripped of their land and enslaved. Instead of providing a safe and prosperous homeland, Egypt has become a torturous prison.

The lesson here is not that Joseph shouldn’t have brought his family to Egypt. He did what was right at the time because the alternative was death and famine.

Rather, the lesson is the inevitability of unintended consequences. What seems ideal at the moment can be awful in the long run.

Silver Living

Fortunately, the opposite can also be true. What seems awful in the moment can be positive in the long run.

Charity, for example, increased dramatically during the early period of the covid shutdown. It has remained higher than it was before. In the midst of all the pain and fear, that period reminded people of our human interconnectedness.

Sometimes ground-breaking medicines are discovered accidentally from unrelated research.

Unintended consequences reveal the spiritual element in human history. We can't predict what will happen because God and human beings work in mysterious ways. May we remain humble in recognizing and appreciating them all.