I have been watching a TV series called ‘Flip or Flop’ - a one-time staple on HGTV. In the series, real-world couple Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack (now divorced) buy up properties in various conditions, and ‘flip’ them, giving them a modern facelift and unique design features to increase their value, and giving them a completely new lease of life. They then sell them on to become attractive homes for buyers. I rarely ever watch reality TV, but what draws me to this series is how with some passion, creativity and hard work, this team is able to completely turn around properties that are dilapidated and ‘written off’, into coveted real estate.

Reflecting on my strange fascination, I realized that as followers of Christ, we are all called to engage in the holy work of ‘flipping’ - not houses per se, but of our communities, our society, and our various spheres of human activity. Let me explain.

Viewed through the four-fold framework of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation, we know that due to the Fall, God’s good creation has been tainted by the corrupting effects of sin. As a result, all spheres of human involvement are marked by the stain of sin. In the house of human society, mold has set-in in the bathroom, the floorboards are scratched and the tiles cracked, and crucial beams have termite damage. This house is a write-off.

But thanks to the work of Redemption begun by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have hope that this house can be redeemed. Christians are called to play a central role in this mission. The Kingdom of God has been inaugurated by Jesus; it is here, but it is not yet fully here. Our work is to spread the values of the Kingdom in our world as we also share the saving news of the gospel. We are called to be ‘salt and light’: mixing into this fallen world in order to slow the decay, and to dispel the world’s darkness by allowing the light of Christ to shine through our lives.

And so, we are called to be ‘flippers’ - to get our hands dirty as we begin this project on the broken house of human society. Christina and Tarek often find that there are redeeming features in the properties they buy. While preserving and highlighting these, they apply some general principles in modernizing these old properties, most notably taking down walls to make spaces more open and inviting. Before this reflection is derailed by too many mixed metaphors and analogies, let me point out that - similarly - many human activities still bear the marks of some goodness. Our systems of education still transfer knowledge, our healthcare preserves life, and our courts are still capable of administering justice. But the rot of sin has corrupted all these areas of human industry. Education (especially in Sri Lanka) struggles to keep up with new methods of teaching and learning, condemning many students to fail by standards long out of use. Healthcare is captured by special interests, and many medical professionals face the pressures of lobbying by giant pharmaceutical interests. And the law is frustrated by delays, a rigid hierarchy, and deeply entrenched ‘traditions’ that hinder modernization and change.

Wherever God has placed us or called us to serve, we are to be the builders and contractors who get our hands dirty as we slowly work to remove the rot, and rebuild these institutions. The values of openness and transparency (taking down walls?), promoting equality and reconciliation between communities (again - dividing walls of hostility?) and ensuring that institutions serve the interest of the marginalised, are values of the Kingdom that we are called to champion in all these places. This is not easy work. It requires us to use all our gifts and talents of creativity, perseverance, and - yes - shrewdness (a flipper must always stay within budget in order to make money on the project). It also requires us to partner with those who have common interests and goals, regardless of whether they believe in Christ.

With Tarek and Christina, their involvement with their projects ends the moment they sell the house. And their ‘flops’ are the houses they are unable to sell, or those which they are only able to sell at a loss. This differs from our lives in two respects. First, for Christians - our work will only be at an end at the Consummation, when Christ’s second coming will herald the new creation, when all things will be made new. Second, even though we may face what we see as flops - where good ideas are shot down, institutions continue to decay, or years of effort come to nothing - we have the assurance that God is pleased with our work, and will use it in some way, in his own time.

And so, we have more confidence and hope than the average house-flipper, because we look forward to a time when all our seemingly hopeless ‘projects’ will come to fruition in the age to come. Our job is to get started, whether in the kitchen, the living room, or the basement. 

And for those of you rolling your eyes at this extended (and perhaps abused) analogy… well, Jesus was a carpenter after all, wasn’t he?