Failure to Thrive

Most of us are familiar with Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

We tend to emphasize vision when we read or hear that. But I would like us to spend some time on the perish portion of that phrase. Where there is no vision, people perish.

What does that mean? Surely it doesn’t mean they die physically, so exactly what does it mean?

I have been around some vision free organizations and I think I understand what it means for people to perish. It looks like this:

People are just showing up and going through the motions. Their shoulders are slumped as they walk and there is no gleam in their eyes. There is no passion or excitement in their voice.

When people are perishing in this environment, they become irritable and contentious. Any energy that is available is spent on self-centered agendas that perpetuate comfort and convenience.

Several years ago we became transitional care parents for new-born babies who were in the process of being adopted. We understood that new born babies needed love and affection, and we provided that for 60 babies during our 8 year run as transitional care parents. During that time, we learned about a phenomenon that occurs when babies are abandoned or ignored. It’s called failure to thrive.

Children who fail to thrive don't receive or are unable to take in, retain, or utilize the calories needed to gain weight and grow as expected. If the condition progresses, undernourished kids may:
· become disinterested in their surroundings
· avoid eye contact
· become irritable
· not reach developmental milestones like sitting up, walking, and talking at the usual age


I have seen organizations that “fail to thrive.” They are unable to take in resources and grow as expected. The members of the organization become disinterested and irritable. Individually and organizationally, they fail to meet developmental milestones. They fail to thrive and slowly begin to perish.

This is why we need vision. Vision provides what Gordon MacDonald calls “vital optimism.” He defines vital optimism as a quality of spirit possessed by a community or a person where there is a persuasion that the best is yet to be. In essence, vital optimism is hope. It is the confident expectation that history is going somewhere and that God, our Creator and Redeemer, is powerfully directing it.

A loss of vital optimism suggests the opposite: melancholy, disincentive, and a general sense of resignation. When there is a loss of vital optimism, people develop a dissipated spirit.

Where there is no vital optimism, people perish.

But when there is a clear sense of vision people thrive. Their vital optimism becomes contagious.

• The vision trumops personal agendas and people begin to tolerate inconveniences and discomfort for the greater cause.
• A positive buzz emerges within and outside of the organization.
• The organization takes on a new level of vibrancy and enthusiasm.
• People begin to give sacrificially to the vision - both financially and of themselves

Where there is no vision, people fail to thrive ... they perish.

Yet, where there is vision, there is a vital optimism that becomes contagious. Thriving people and thriving organizations generate a positive environment that attracts resources and unleashes our God-given potential.