Ways To Give

What Kind of Change?

Written by Darren Hewer

[Jesus] called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:2-3)

Change is necessary, and change is good! It was the main message of President Obama’s election campaign. “Change we can believe in” and “Yes we can” were two of the slogans seen on signs everywhere. For many people the exact nature of the change didn’t mater; anything seemed better than keeping the status quo. What is new is good.

C. S. Lewis, in his pseudo-autobiography Surpised by Joy, coined a term for this sort of thinking — “chronological snobbery”. This fallacious way of thinking says that everything new is good and what is old is outdated, ignoble, and less preferable to the new and exciting ways. I think partially this is due to the rapid pace of technological advances, where new almost always equals better. But the same isn’t true for many other areas of our lives.

To be God’s agent of change, we must often eschew what is new and exciting, and return instead to what is ancient and sacrosanct. The apostle Paul told us “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2, TNIV) The change that we often need to make is, as Jesus said, to become as innocent and trusting as little children, as we return to God’s ways and providence instead of the way of the world and dependence on material things.

Often such changes begin with a tiny step of faith in the right direction. In his article Step, Shaun Smith explores the meaning of real change versus mere optimism. If you have been contemplating or actively pursuing godly changes in your life, check out the article (written for a non-Christian audience), and let us know about your successes and struggles in the comments here on this blog.

If you would like to talk to someone who is a patient listener and can walk along with you as you strive in God’s power towards holiness and godly change, contact an online mentor today to talk via email!

Tags: change, darren hewer, LIFE, Men, Self, Shaun Smith, theology, thoughts, Women, World

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