“Theologically, God never changes, and for sure, God’s values are timeless. But your willingness to change gives you the ability to communicate timeless truths in a way that has meaning to those who come after you.”-Carey Nieuwhof
In Chapter 8 (“Craving Different”) of Didn’t See It Coming, Carey Nieuwhof discusses how regular (and radical) change keeps you in the game. Change, Pastor Nieuwhof states, staves off irrelevance. Hence, only change bridges the gap between who you are and who you need to be.
Obviously, Carey underscores, God never changes. And, His values are timeless. But, ways to communicate those timeless truths change over time. Yet, many people resist change. Because it’s painful. As a result, change happens when the pain associated with the status quo surpasses the pain associated with change.
Furthermore, there’s one major reason we struggle with change. What seems obvious to outsiders rarely appears that obvious to insiders. Thus, Carey offers three basic principles to help you understand why you resist change.
1. You aren’t opposed to change, just the change you didn’t think of. Change is either externally imposed or internally driven. Because you devise the latter, it’s far easier to deal with. Also, while there’s some resistance to internal change, your react more intensely to externally imposed change. Since such change is beyond your control, you naturally try to exert control as you ignore, resist, or fight that change.
2. You crave what you already like. When you crave what you already like, you’re liable to keep repeating your established preferences. For your brain’s biased toward the familiar.
3. You encounter problems with success. In most cases people become successful because they embrace change. However, once they achieve success, a whole other dynamic kicks in. People get conservative. Thus, they don’t want to mess with a good thing. So, the greatest enemy of your future success= your current success.
Today’s question: In what ways do you express God’s timeless truths? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The change you don’t implement”
