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Pastoral Nuggets - The Way "It Is" or The Way "We Are?"

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August 2008: When the Music Stops

The Way “It Is,” or The Way “We Are?”

Somewhere along the way I heard somebody say, “We do not see the world the way it is; we see the world the way we are.” How true. Our perspective, good or bad, causes our view of life to become jaded. Each of us, whatever our prejudices may be, right or wrong, views the world through the lens of those prejudices. We errantly think that everybody views the world through our lens. The truth is that this simply is not so. Again, we do not see the world the way “it is,” we see the world the way “we are.”

As Christians, we have a charge from Jesus to change the world. However, before real change can occur in the world, it must first occur in our hearts. To change the world we must first change ourselves. Mahatma Gandhi said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” In June 1966, Senator Robert Kennedy gave a speech in South Africa. In that speech he said, "It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

Change occurs when one by one we stop seeing the world the way we are, and begin to view it the way it is. This motivates us to action, and that action produces change within us. Contrary to popular belief, properly assessing our current condition, and developing and implementing an appropriate plan of action to change our condition, is the very thing that sustains life, not merely being defenders of the status quo. Failure to assess our condition properly and to develop and implement an appropriate plan of action leads to our downfall.

Someone told me that the silverback gorilla is on the endangered species list. Do you know why he is on the list? It is not what you think. He is on the list because he does not perceive his environment has changed. He has not done a proper assessment of his world. He still sees his world the way he is. It is programmed into the DNA of the silverback alpha-males to protect the troop. When they perceive they are under attack, they default to what they know. They herd the females and the children together and then form a perimeter around them to protect them from the attacker. This defensive posture works well as long as the attacker is another gorilla, a lion, or perhaps a tiger. However, it is not worth a hill of beans when the attackers are poachers. The silverback does not realize his environment has changed. He faces a predator who is different from any he has ever encountered. In a cruel twist of fate, nature forces the silverbacks to make a difficult decision. They must adjust their perspective of the world or go extinct. To adjust means they must go against what has been programmed into their DNA, their default position, and everything they know. Why must they adjust? Because they do not see the world the way it is; they see it the way they are. And the way they are, as noble and chivalrous as it is, only serves to make them easy targets for the poacher’s bullets. And one by one they fall until one day they are extinct.

I am afraid the same holds true for us. Generally, we too fail to perceive that the world in which we live has changed. It is our nature to default to what we know. We herd our thoughts, preferences, ideas, prejudices, and loved ones into the center of our world, form a perimeter, and defend them to the death. As noble and chivalrous as this may seem, this type of defensive posturing and isolationism serves only to make us easy targets for the wicked one. Sadly, this process also holds true for many churches. We tend to herd our programs, worship preferences, and traditions into the centerpiece of our Spiritual beliefs and worship experience, form a perimeter, and defend them to the death. All too often there is more excitement generated in churches by leaders defending their troop against predators named, “change” and “status quo,” than over souls being birthed into the kingdom.

Gaining a proper perspective of the world does not happen naturally. It is not in our DNA to see the world the way it is. We have to be intentional. It means going against certain parts of our Spiritual DNA. It means conceding that, that which used to protect us, that to which we default, and that which gives us a feeling of security and comfort, has been made lethal by changing circumstances. It means we must purposely evaluate the situations in our personal, Spiritual, and corporate world and make the necessary adjustments to insure we remain relevant and do not become extinct.

Other than the love of God and all that entails, there is one constant in life: change. Those who look at the future and fail to make the necessary adjustments are doomed to become extinct. Christian researcher George Barna reports that, at current trends, 60% of all churches in existence today, across all denominational lines, will no longer be in existence by the year 2050. Why? Because we see the world the way we are, not the way it is and fail to make the necessary adjustments.

In this Nugget I am not advocating change merely for the sake of change. And I fully realize that there are certain Biblical principles that we should not, cannot, and never will compromise or change. However, I also know that all too often we form perimeters around and defend to the death things that, in the great scheme of things, do not amount to a hill of beans.

Sometimes I think Jesus should have included another Beatitude. It should read, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall be able to change and not get bent out of shape!”

I wonder, do you see things in your world, your church, your family, and your life the way they are, or the way you are? The question that begs an answer is this: Does what you are getting bent out of shape about truly qualify as something worth getting bent out of shape about? Most likely the answer is no. Why do we get bent out of shape? Because we see the world the way we are, form the perimeter, hunker down, and defend our perspective to the death. Lord help us!

Brother Aaron

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