But I have also seen another kind of perseverance; one that keeps using older methods after better, faster and cheaper methods are found; one that stays around when it would be better to pass the baton to the next runner.
I discovered that sticking to something is only as good as the thing being stuck to. I also discovered that it is not really perseverance when I stick to something because it’s comfortable or because changing takes effort.
While I was making those discoveries, I found an article in the Financial Times entitled, “Why quitters are not failures but a sign of success”. The article cites cases of employees quitting for better jobs, and people leaving dying companies to work for growing enterprises. The author claims that these quitters help create economic growth.
Unfortunately, Bible translation does not have the incentives to update and change that are found in business. For example, a country might have only one translation agency, giving it a monopoly on Bible translation. In such cases, people who want the Bible in their language only have one choice. So it’s do it as that agency says or not at all.
Today, that is changing. People from over 75 countries are involved in translating the Bible around the world. They bring different ideas. There are more and more agencies as well and almost all the new agencies are in developing countries. They tend to develop innovative approaches. This can create tensions. But creating tensions where there is the wrong kind of perseverance is generally a good thing.
Since 2011 I have had the privilege of working with in a Ghanaian organization that is bringing positive change to Bible translation.
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven
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A time to keep and a time to throw away. – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Heart Language 