I heard it said years ago:
People will not truly change until the pain of remaining the same becomes greater than the pain of change.
In other words, no one changes because they want to change. They change because their backs are against the wall and the self-preservation mode kicks in. Change or die.
Until that point of necessary change arrives, change is given lip service, but seldom adopted. In fact, the corollary to the above axiom is this:
Significant change is always noticeable. Therefore, superficial change is preferable.
What I mean by this is simply that genuine change is so radical that people around us will notice, and we will have "some 'splainin' to do." Pardon the Ricky Ricardo moment. We will be forced to give a defense for our rebellion against the status quo.
For instance, if I decide that following Jesus means I need to be more vocal in my testimony about Jesus, then I have two basic options:
- I must begin to speak consistently to family and friends about Jesus and His impact in and sovereignty over my life. It doesn't necessarily mean I become obnoxious, but that I intentionally seek opportunities to turn most conversations to the topic of Who reigns in my life.
- I can begin diligently praying about speaking to others, and can begin to do so in church and at home (presuming my family is Christian). Occasionally, I may even dare to speak to others about Christ when the door swings wide open or some visitors come to church.
If I decide that following Jesus means living more simply, then I can choose between these two options:
- I will see the need to sell my over-sized home and move into a smaller one. I will buy a simple, used and more efficient car. I will sell much of my "stuff" and give the profits away to Kingdom projects.
- I can begin to pray about how to live more simply. I may choose to unload the "stuff" I don't use anymore and the clothes that don't fit me or that are out of style.
If I realize that following Jesus means being more open to people who are different than me, I have two choices:
- I will begin to have those people in my home for meals, and begin to actually share my life with them.
- I can begin to say "Hi" consistently to those different than me, and sometimes even sit by them in church.
I could go on, but I thought about the areas in which I struggle to genuinely change. I've done pretty well at the #2 options above. The #1 options aren't nearly as attractive. If I changed in those ways, people would notice. My family would notice. They would think I've gone off the deep end. People in my sphere of influence would sympathetically concur with my family and pray for my "holier-than-thou" phase to pass quickly.
The convicting fact to me is that deep, genuine change should be the norm for us. If the Lordship of Christ is growing in our lives, and the Spirit is increasingly filling us, we should be consistently changing in foundational ways. Each year a new Dave should be evident. Instead, we can know one another for years and see virtually no change in basic behaviors, passions and attitudes.
When we do become convinced that change is best, we dip our big toe in first to test the water, then hope to slowly immerse ourselves. No diving in this end of the pool! And what usually happens? We end up wading into our navels and never truly immerse ourselves.
Is my life in Jesus Christ dynamic or stagnant? Is there a need for me to do a cannonball every now and then into the deep end? Maybe the splash will encourage others to jump in too.
Into what "deep end" do you find it hard to dive?
2 comments:
I totally agree with you about we must be full of radical change with Christ. We so many times take the superficial change over the deep spiritual change Christ is calling us to.
It is amazing to be part of a church here where I can honestly say I see change - radical change happening in the lives of people.
I think this church had the mentality that something had to be changed, for the very reason you stated... the pain of remaining the same was greater than the pain of change. The leaders recognized this and prayed fervently for what needed to be done to the dying church... and then set out to make those changes, and now what we see is amazing in the lives coming to know Christ. There are several baptisms a week now and the depth of spiritual growth within the church of palatable, whereas two years ago there was hardly anything going on at this church.
Dear Preacher,
Sunday evening about 6:00, I was driving home from Wal-Mart when I spotted an old boy at the edge of the parking lot, holding a sign that said "Homeless and Hungry." I drove on, then feeling guilty I stopped, backed up and rolled down the window. I figured I had two options:
1. I could give the guy money to pay for a hot meal and a hotel room.
2. I could take him home and give him regular meals and a place to stay until he could find a job and a place of his own.
Option 1 would only be a Band-Aid and he'd be right back there when I had to get milk and bread.
Option 2 would totally tick off my wife who would not like to be left at home alone with a stranger while I go off to work every day.
So I chose Option 3. I pawned him off on you. When he came up to the car, I said, "Hey, buddy, there's a church at the top of the hill serving food tonight. I bet they'd give you a hotdog."
He said someone else had already told him about your church's block party and that he'd go up there later.
I guess I wasn't Christlike, but I've got a wife to think of.
Did he show up at your party? What was your Christian response to the homeless hungry man?
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