If there is one peccadillo that
characterizes this generation it is the mania for change. Change for the
sake of change is thought to be a mark of liberation from "tradition"
and of intellectual sophistication. Ella Wheeler Wilcox, though not
necessarily advocating change for the sake of change, paid tribute to
the desire for change when she wrote,
"The splendid
discontent of God with chaos made the world; and from the discontent of
man, the world's best progress springs."
However, she failed to note that
not all of man's
discontent is "splendid."
A more practical and perceptive
statement statesman, inventor and author said, "All
human inventions have their inconveniencies. We feel those of the
present, but see nor fear those of the future, and hence we often make
troublesome changes without amendment and frequently for the worse"
(Benjamin Franklin). It can be and often is "from bad to worse." Someone
has likened this to a "farmer burning down his barn to get rid of the
rats."
While change is the law of growth, it
is not always benign. Not all growth is healthy nor progressive. One can
blow up a balloon to several times its normal size, but balloons often
burst under pressure to which they are thus subjected. The result is
destructive, not constructive.
Our generation has seen more changes
than another in human history, but the
"discontent"
that has produced them has not always
been
"splendid," hence many of the
changes have been malignant rather than benign. This is not only true in
the secular realm, but professed churches of Christ have likewise
undergone radical changes that have not always been benign and
constructive but malignant and destructive.
Advocates of changes, the discontented,
in congregations have the obligation to give an adequate reason why
changes should be made. Of first consideration would be whether or not
the current situation meets the demands of Scripture. If not, change is
not only advisable but essential. Second in importance is whether the
proposed changes would bring the situation into harmony with Scripture.
The question of Scripture having been
settled, the proposed changes should meet the demands of expediency. Are
they viable? Are they more effective in accomplishing the objectives of
a congregation's work and worship? Are they spiritually motivated, or
merely an effort to accommodate the pressures of modern subjectivism,
emotionalism, and anarchism in religion? Do they constitute an
abdication to the
devotees to novelty,
or will they actually promote edification and soul-saving influence upon
the believer and the unbeliever.
No Christian should cling to the old
simply because it is old. Neither should the new be desired because it
is new. Many
things are old becaause they have been tried, proven, and not found
wanting. Things are not right
because they are old, but often are old because they are right. On the
other hand, things are not wrong because they are new and different.
The old and the new should both meet
the demands of
Scripture and
expediency, and the decision to
change or not to change made on this basis. If
"discontent"
issue in benevolent change, it is indeed
"splendid"
If it merely bows to the spirit of novelty, it is neither benign nor
progressive, only
"worldly."
The philosophy of the poet, Wilcox tempered by that of statesman,
Franklin, would seem to be safe course in religious matters as well as
secular.
The point of this article is well
illustrated by three classes of persons noted in the Scriptures. The
scribes and
Pharisees were opponents of
change by reason of their devotion to their purely human traditions.
Jesus rebuked their attitude by saying, "No man having drunk old wine
straightway desireth new: for he saith: The old is better"
(Luke 5:39).
On the other hand,
the philosophers of
Athens "spent their time in
nothing else, but to tell, or hear some new thing"
(Acts 17:21).
The right attitude is exemplified by
Cornelius, the Gentile Centurion, who said, "Now therefore are we all
present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God"
(Acts 10:34).
Other Articles
The Hardening of
Pharaoh's Heart
The Forgotten Command
If Brethren Can Practice
it then Why Can't I Teach It?
