The Third Space and Holiness: How Microtransitions Help Us Battle Sin

We live in a fast world.

We are daily asked to transition from home to driving to clients to bosses to training to parenting to “spousing” and so on and so forth. A minute-to-minute chockablock day is not the exception: it is the rule. Many of us have to think for a good while before we answer questions like “What are your hobbies?” and “What do you do in your spare time?”; the hesitation is not because we don’t like having hobbies, but because we can’t remember much of anything that resembles so-called “spare time”.

For many of us, every minute of our lives feels dedicated to something, whether being a good employee, a good spouse, a good parent, or a good child. These different roles come with different expectations, attitudes, and responsibilities. They come with different highs and different lows; on the same day that a project falls through, your son may come running to tell you that he scored his first goal on the A team. If we haven’t taken off our “work hat” and put on our “parent hat”, we can easily get caught out and not handle the moment the way we wish we would.

Dr. Adam Fraser, a high performance researcher, considered this reality and the dangers of not fully transitioning out of one role and into another. In his book “The Third Space”, Fraser explains the concept of a “microtransition”, or the shift from one place, one responsibility, or one reality to another. Going from home to work is a microtransition; going back home is another microtransition. It may not be a major life change, but in that small space of time we have to focus on different goals, be concerned about different issues, and perform different tasks within a different power hierarchy.

Dr. Fraser states that microtransitions have three parts: the first space, the second space, and the third space.

Let’s think of a commute. Your first space is your home, where you begin and where you have been performing what is expected of you. Your second space is your workplace, where you are going and where a whole different set of expectations awaits you.

Your third space is your drive to work. This is where you transition mentally from home life to work life. Getting the transition right is crucial to being effective wherever you’re going.

It can be a lot shorter than this. Maybe you have spent the afternoon on your own and have an evening with friends planned. Transitioning mentally allows you to move from solitude to being a good friend to those you’re planning to see.

We face many such transitions, but too many just blur right past us. Too often, we miss these key moments and have to jarringly snap back to reality in our new situations.

Dr. Fraser’s method to mastering third spaces and microtransitions is simple, straightforward, and easy to remember. Better yet, it lines up with Scripture and gives us language to help us transition from being on autopilot and into a life of worship.

Dr. Fraser’s method is to:

These three steps help ground us and keep us from flying blind into whatever is thrown at us next. Instead of being reactive, we can actually become proactive in our lives and take control of our situations. We enter into new roles with greater presence of mind and with a goal-oriented approach, no matter the circumstances.

As followers of Christ, it is critical that we remain cognisant. Although it is a buzzword to yoga instructors and crystal sellers, mindfulness is not a negative quality. Being aware of what is going on around you and what is the best thing for you to do is a key aspect of living a meaningful life.

Peter wrote that we ought to “be sober-minded [and] be watchful” (1 Peter 5:8) because of the devil, a predator who is always on the hunt for his next prey. Clearly, there is an expectation on believers to live a life that is not just “going with the flow”. Rather, we ought to be in control of ourselves and highly aware of the situations we find ourselves in.

Similarly, Paul warned the church in Thessalonica to “keep awake and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:8) in preparation for the return of Christ. This echoes Jesus’ own words to His disciples to “stay awake at all times” (Luke 21:36). Jesus was not literally telling His followers not to fall asleep, but to be mentally and spiritually awake to the situations around them and to their own behaviour.

Keeping an open eye to our battle against sin is an essential Christian discipline. Although the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ is an invaluable tool, we are each called to work our own salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Being aware of how our eyes wander, or how our tongue turns to gossip so readily, or how our temper flares at the drop of a hat is key to conquering sin in our lives.

Therefore, we should be aware of how we should act at all times. The devil is waiting to pounce at all times, wishing to lead us into sin. But we should not just be mindful for the sake of not sinning. We are called for more than that.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

As Christians, our lives are not merely lived to avoid evil, nor to do general good, but to do everything we do for God’s glory! This is a bar that is way higher than just not sinning. In everything we do, there is an expectation to do it with God’s glory in mind. This means that what we do should have the ability to glorify God.

We should seek and endeavour to do what we do, whatever we do, with an understanding of God’s need for glory. We sing that God is worthy of all our praise, and yet we confine praise to one day of the week. Rather, Paul instructs the church that everything they do should be done as worship to God.

This cannot be done on autopilot. We do not glorify God as our default position.

No, we rage against diligence. We hate truth and would rather lie. We seek revenge instead of showing love.

If we understand that our default state is to sin and to fail to glorify God, we must realise that glorifying God will take effort. Paul wrote of disciplining his body and keeping it under control. We need to realise that the reins over our bodies will not be readily given; we must take them.

It’s with this, our call to worship, in mind that I argue that we need to be aware at all times. Whether we are arriving at work, whether we are alone at home, whether we are with extended family, whether we are doing our daily duties or counselling a friend in need, we should be aware and mindful of what is going on around us and within us.

For the sake of excellence, don’t fly through life on autopilot. Take moments to reflect, rest, and reset to be the most loving, excellent, worshipful, and effective servant of Christ you can be.