Plant and water; leave the growth to God

Measure what serves the person and the task. Never score a soul, and never claim the fruit as yours.

From the calling

Scripture and tradition

“Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:7). The seed “sprouts and grows, though he knows not how” (Mark 4:27). “So My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty” (Isaiah 55:11).

Dallas Willard distinguished effort from earning. FaithTech warns of the Killer App Trap, “the belief that technology will solve our deepest problems”.

Sources: Spiritual Disciplines and Means of Grace: Contrast or Continuum? · The FaithTech Playbook

What it rules in, and out

In

Honest evaluation of usability, understanding, burden and harm
Accounts people choose to give
Saying what the product does not know

Out

Faith scores and maturity levels inferred from use
Global prayer counters as achievements
Usage presented as spiritual fruit
“Life-changing” claims without evidence

What the maker gives up. The impressive number for the pitch.

Qualification. Humility is not a reason to avoid evaluation. Measure usability, safety and understanding carefully; it is spiritual maturity that no telemetry can show.

Test a design

What would we stop measuring if we believed growth is God’s?

Will the person’s motivation survive removing the feature?

Worked out in the deep dives

Every pattern tagged with this principle