a clean break

Change is good, right? Stupid question. I don't think all change is good - but it IS inevitable. And our ability to flow with it when it comes determines whether or not we turn into disgruntled old farts, trying to cling to the "good old days". It's dangerous, especially when you're dealing with the God who made the seasons.

Even without trying, we change. We are victims of our environment. We are morphed into the kinds of company we keep. It seems harsh to draw firm lines in your life, and we all have said things like, "I'm not into that - so I can be around it and it doesn't affect me at all." I'm guilty of this. Problems arise, however, from actually believing we're immune to the natural processes of adaptation and acceptance. We will, with continued exposure to something, find that we don't feel as strongly for/against something we defended our right to be around in the past. Let me illustrate.

Jamie hates horror movies. They give her nightmares, and she thinks they're gross and scary. Jamie becomes friends with Angie, who she thinks is the coolest. Angie likes the thrill of being scared out of her wits, and always chooses what she knows will be the most terrifying movies to watch. Jamie, not wanting to be considered a weenie, watches whatever Angie wants to watch. Years later, Jamie will be at home in her living room, watching the latest horror movie. She doesn't remember why she used to hate them, and how she used to be so afraid of what she now thinks is a pretty exciting film genre. Her daughter, 13 year old Kelly, will later host a slumber party with a showing of "It" - selected from her mother's movie collection. Her friends will go along, even though 2 of the 5 aren't going to sleep for the rest of the weekend.

I'm not going to pass judgment on your choice of movies. My point is simply that people change. What you hate today, you may find you're not feeling so strongly against tomorrow. And this can happen unconsciously, without our awareness of how, when, or why.

Blink got me thinking about some of this stuff. How often are our thoughts really our thoughts, and not just a collection of our feelings at any given time? Can we trust our gut? Notice how often we judge someone almost instantly based on a perceived set of standards in our mind. We think the old guy in the torn jeans with messy hair on the park bench is poor. Maybe he's just not spending his money on clothes. Or maybe he just wants to take it easy after helping a friend move all morning, and hasn't showered up and changed out of his "work" clothes yet. We all do this - it's natural to learn from our experiences, and build up a repertoire of "if this, then that" assessments of people and situations. Saves time, right? We're even taught to hone this in goofy little logic activities in elementary school. Match the apple with the tree it came from, the piglet with the pig. Common sense.

What the heck do we mean by "common sense" anyway??

Perhaps we need to rethink. Or just think, period. I'm feeling compelled to take a look at some of the things I used to condemn that I don't feel so strongly about now. Some of these are legitimate dismissal of a legalistic mindset. I don't want to be in the way of the Pharisee...but on the other hand, there is right and wrong. And there is personal conviction. Do my feelings really get to determine either of those? I don't want to be so easily swayed. But I also believe in the leading of the Holy Spirit in me, which comes across suspiciously as a feeling all too often. When did faith get so foggy?

Romans 14:22
"Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves."

Need to ponder this some more...thoughts?