Move the Fence, Or.....?

Years ago our neighbor was selling his house.  In the process of the sale, surveyors discovered that a privacy fence in our backyard was two inches inside his property line.  We didn't put the fence up.  It was already up when we bought the house.  This fence was in the back of our yard's and it was not visible from the road.  There was a retention pond on the back side of the fence.   It separated his backyard waste area (garbage cans, compost pile, etc.) from mine.

I remember his attorney told us that he could deed/rent the two inches to us for $1 per year while maintaining ownership of the property.  The attorney was trying to find a simple solution.  I will never forget when the neighbor came over and asked me to move the 10-year old wooden privacy fence that was already rotting in spots!

At the time I couldn't afford to replace the fence so I had to pay a guy to physically move the fence (8 ft. high and 12-15 ft. long) back three inches.  As the work was being done I couldn't help, but think how much energy and money was wasted on a 10-year old fence.  I have often wondered what I would've done if the fence had been on my property?  Would I have demanded he move it, or would I have let it go?

Hear me out.  There was nothing wrong with the decision our neighbor made.  He was well within his right and was trying to consider the new home owner.  I wasn't mad, or even upset about it.  I was more puzzled than anything.  My neighbor was a retired aeronautical engineer and his whole life was black and white.  He was very linear in his reasoning and I have no doubt that this was the most logical decision from his worldview.

Ever felt like the church, or your company spends more time on things like moving a 10-year old fence 3 inches?  Like my neighbor, it may be perfectly logical and make the most sense, but is it the best thing to do?  Is it something to which we need to devote significant time, energy and resources?  It's like complaining about the need for new carpet in the worship area when young adults are AWOL from the church.  In other words, are we spinning our wheels on what really counts?  Worn carpet may be a legitimate concern, but chances are there's a bigger reason why young adults and their children are AWOL.  Perhaps a focus shift would be something to consider.  There's probably a good chance if you focus on changes that need to be made in order to reach young adults the carpet issue will get resolved.  Or, you can change the carpet and smile about it as young couples (or customers in the business world) go elsewhere.  #focusonwhatmatters