In short, Tis Gar Plen is Greek for So What? Read on for more information:
Just after my family and I started attending LifeChurch, I made the final decision to go ahead with the amputation of my right leg, halfway between the knee and ankle. While I put on an outward appearance of 'being fine' with the decision, inside I has having difficulty accepting the fact I was going to be an amputee. One of the first full worship series I attended at LifeChurch was the "Joy" series. The description of the series was, "Finding joy in the midst of struggles, chaos and confusion". It was a study in Philippians.
Week One was Joy: Joyful No Matter "What". The main thought of the day was that when bad things come our way, instead of asking "Why?", we need to be asking "What?". The first question would be "Now What?". Examples:
Now what is God doing? | Points: God can change obstacles into opportunities God can change our setbacks into setups |
The other question is "So What?". Is this a situation that is really going to be important in 100 years? What does it matter? In the original language, the phrase Tis gar plen is used, and it roughly translates to "so what?". Generally, the things that tend to freak us out the most are the things that don't matter in the long run. We need to address the things that are very important, and they need to be addressed with intensity, integrity and passion.
Needless to say, this message struck home in a very serious way. In essence, 'so what' about my accident and the impending amputation. What will this matter in 100 years (or even 100 days for that matter - cause I was already back on my feet, walking without pain in that amount of time)
Paul, while writing to the believers at Phillipi, while being imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. It was to that, as well as other hardships, he was referring to when he wrote the following verse:
Tis Gar Plen has been my 'battle cry' since Craig shared this with me (well, he actually shared it will all of the LifeChurch attendees, but I like to think he was talking directly to me).
Tis Gar Plen = So What
!!! Limb-Loss does not equal Life-Loss !!!
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