Paradigms.
I feel I change my mind all the time. And I sort of feel that's your responsibility as a person, as a human being – to constantly be updating your positions on as many things as possible. And if you don't contradict yourself on a regular basis, then you're not thinking.
~ Malcolm Gladwell
Last week we looked at the transformation God instigated in Elijah’s paradigm: from relating to God as power-broker to relating to God as intimate soul-friend. Many of the biblical heroes had to navigate a similar and momentous shift in mentality, but not everyone can make the leap.
Think for a moment of major paradigm shifts required of biblical leaders; here’s a quick sampling…
John the Baptist: From a judgment mentality to a healing mentality. (Matt 11:2-6)
Martha: From women as food-prep to full discipleship. (Luke 10:38-42)
Post-resurrection disciples: From an Israel-centric restoration to a global one. (Acts 1:6-8)
Peter: Similarly, from a tribal Jewish-only mentality to full salvific inclusion. (Acts 11:4-18)
Can you think of a time when your understanding of reality was rocked to the core, and you had to actively “unlearn” what you had been convinced was true in order to taste God’s “new wine”? Many followers of Jesus are being challenged in similar ways to re-evaluate their spiritual heritage in the light of the Red Words of Jesus. Here’s a quick sampling…
Will the Father Jesus illustrated in the prodigal son story send a world of prodigals into eternal torment?
Does the political party I have always supported reflect Jesus’ priority for the poor and the weak?
Does our culture of accumulation and consumption jive with the thrust of the gospel?
Is the organized church the best representation of the Kingdom of God we can do?
Think about your parents—Did they become more open to new ideas as they got older, or did they cling more stubbornly to a worldview that felt secure and comforting? How about you—Does your heart remain malleable, teachable, and open to new ways of seeing? As one knocking on the door of 60, I can attest that the older we get, the tougher it becomes to change our way of seeing God and God’s world. Some simply cannot, and God is uber-patient with our limitations. But when God shows up to rock our reality, if we cannot make the leap and fall fearless into love, we will become irrelevant (yet beloved!) for God’s current work in the world.
The very term “conservative” that many Christians embrace reflects a resistance to growth and change and makes such transformational movement difficult, if not impossible. To “conserve” something carries a host of assumptions:
That spiritual resources are scarce and at risk.
That divine revelation (supply) has ceased, that all that can be known is already now known.
That spiritual change is tantamount to betrayal of our spiritual heritage.
That we, the Christian Church, own God and must protect God from all perceived threats.
But what if none of that is true? What if spiritual resources are abundant and self-propagating? What if ongoing self-revelation is the very nature of God to invite a constant evolution in our faith? What if growth and change is the essence of spiritual truth? And what if no human or group gets to own God or have the final word on truth this side of heaven? Well, if these were true, it would make a great case for being “liberal”—in the sense of being generous and welcoming, of seeking common ground among cultures and faiths, and of seeking the common good. What if Jesus was the greatest “progressive” of his day, constantly challenging the status quo, disrupting spiritual complacency (and the political powers that always protect complacency), and calling spiritual seekers to see things in new ways?
The terms conservative and liberal are not inherently political, although they certainly have political ramifications. Long before they become political, though, they are ways of seeing the world and ways of being in this world. Unfortunately, like so many paradigms in the story of humanity and spirituality, these words have been used to divide us rather than unite us. Much to Jesus’ sorrow. Can we do better? I hope so.
growing your soul
Can you see ways in which you have been trapped in a spiritual scarcity mentality? What would it take to see things in a new way?
serving our world
Can you see ways in which your spiritual paradigm has brought blinders to the needs of the non-Christian world?
takeaway
Grow. Change.