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Mission Statement

The Butterfly Effect The butterfly effect is a phrase that encapsulates the more technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory. Small variations of the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system. This is sometimes presented as esoteric behavior, but can be exhibited by very simple systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill might roll into any of several valleys depending on slight differences in initial position.

The phrase refers to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that ultimately cause a tornado to appear (or, for that matter, prevent a tornado from appearing). The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different.

The butterfly effect is a powerful analogy of exactly what Affect the System is trying to do. Small and seemingly insignificant acts of kindness in a small town can cause a chain of events that lead to large-scale phenomena across the globe.

Copyright © 2006 Affect the System.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

So how do you change the world?Okay, so the butterfly effect is basically just a theory about weather, but if we the people of God can find significance in the small opportunities to do good for others, we’ll cause a storm to erupt throughout our nation and over the entire world. That’s the big secret to changing it; doing for others out of selfless love.

The true challenge is making this a daily practice and constantly being on the lookout for an opportunity to do good and then seizing it swiftly. The Apostle Paul exhorts “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Does this mean we are constantly walking around praying aloud? No, it’s a vigilance to be connected to the Spirit. In the same way, be watchful for those openings to show true love to the world.

Jesus said, “…love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another.” The hard truth of the matter is that this world does not care what we have to say until they know we care. What good does preaching and teaching honestly do if it isn’t motivated by love? Isn’t that what 1 Corinthians 13 says?

“If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don't have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.”

But I have my own problems!Helping others is not for us, but for love. Doing good deeds for others is not about making ourselves feel better. Again, 1 Corinthians 13:3 says, “If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don't have love, it profits me nothing.” It’s about showing others we love them because they are a child of God. Try this. For one whole day, every person you see including those that cut you off in traffic, say silently to yourself, “They are a child of God whom Jesus Christ died for.” Suddenly, you’re seeing things through the eyes of God. You are seeing this world as a planet in need of the grace so freely given on the cross at Calvary.

You might think this isn’t possible because you have your own problems to deal with. “How can I help someone else when I’m in need myself?” It’s incredible what happens when we begin to serve others out of a contrite spirit. When you help those with problems, suddenly your own do not seem so big. Consider this Chinese parable:

A man once asked if he could visit heaven and hell.
When he reached hell, he was amazed to find people seated around a huge banquet table. The finest foods were piled high on the table. “What a feast! Perhaps hell wasn’t so bad after all!” he thought.

Then he looked more closely at the diners. They were all starving! You see, each diner had been given chopsticks which were three feet long! There was no way they could carry the food to their mouths with these long chopsticks. No one could eat a bite.

What a hell indeed, to sit so close to a banquet and yet be unable to taste even a bite.

The man was then taken to heaven to observe life there.
To his surprise he saw people seated around a banquet table in exactly the same situation. Each person had been given three foot long chopsticks in heaven too!

But here, everyone was happily eating the delicious food.

The residents of heaven were using their yard long chopsticks to feed each other.

If we can get our focus off of our needs and on to the needs of others we will find the Kingdom. We will begin to see marvelous things unfold when we selflessly approach our daily life with the care of those around us in mind; and then acting when we see the opportunity to help. That is truly affecting the system!

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