I’ve wanted to update this for quite some time now, but I
never really knew how or what to say. I
probably won’t update this blog all that
often, but I wanted to post this…
Earlier a few weeks ago I heard a Freakanomics podcast
entitled “The Praise of Incrementalism”.
While the podcast itself was great (Freakanomics has put out some of my personal favorites) I
immediately hearkened to our spiritual lives.
The reality is that we as a nation tend to think of major or colossal
events as being the catalyst for major change.
In particular the podcast went on to talk about how homosexual marriage
is now legal, and the overarching opinion or thoughts regarding homosexual
marriage has changed drastically over the years. It spoke of a time not that long ago, when being
a homosexual was considered crazy by many, even by the medical community. It also talked about racism and the way we
view people of different colors and races.
This post isn’t about homosexual marriage or racism, but the
point was that it only started with ONE person or group standing up for what
they believed in. That ONE person or
group led to a larger community doing the same, and so on and so on. Was Rosa Parks or Matlin Luther King the
first person (or people) to stand up for black rights? Of course not. They were just the most popular people and as
a result are attributed to the cause.
They are to this day considered to be some of the people who were major
catalysts of the black movement.
At any rate, it really got me to consider the changes in our
lives from a spiritual perspective. If
you were to think about “the Godliest
person you know”, do you suspect they became that way over night? Chances are… … no. I suspect if you were to ask that person how
they got to be the way they were, they would likely tell you it took a lifetime
(or set amount of time) of commitment and dedication to the cause. In all likelihood it was “a series of
incremental steps”. I heard on a
separate podcast that the people we might consider to be “great people” in the Christian faith like Paul did much of their
“training” while in the waiting periods.
Most of us probably know (or should know anyways) that Paul was
traveling to Damascus when he encountered Christ for the first time. After spending a portion of his life
persecuting the followers of Christ, he obviously had a sudden change of
heart. I believe it was Greg Surrat (lead
pastor of Seacoast church) who preached to the crowd that after encountering
Christ, Paul went out to the desert for a while. It was there that Christ stretched him and
molded him in to being the man that he became.
I thought this is important because while major events and
changes obviously do and can happen, and particularly at someone’s conversion
to Christ; it is the lifetime of pursuit and striving to be like him that makes
us who we are. It is what gives the
appearance of “being Godly”. I look back
at my own life and at certain points, you would never know that I was a
Christian unless you asked. I may not
run across the streets or shout “Jesus will save!” from my rooftop; but that
doesn’t mean I’m any less laved. I hope
that other people know and can tell that I’m “not normal” and I will always be willing
and happy to talk about it. The truth
and reality though is that sometimes I don’t feel saved. I feel like I probably don’t talk
about it or share it as much as I should.
While I may not appear on the surface to be saved (like the Billy Graham’s of the world)
it is the little things or incremental steps that we can take in life that get
us to where God would have us. Before my
crazy accident I used to have a mouth like a sailor. I was in the Navy for six years prior to my
accident, but that doesn’t change anything.
I literally defined and exemplified the term “having a mouth like a
sailor.” I don’t anymore, and yes I do
let the occasional swear word fly… but overall cussing or dirty language is not
part of my life and vocabulary. As it
says: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what
is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:28)
To be honest, dirty language was such a part of my life that I really wasn’t
sure if I could ever “turn it off”.
At any rate, my point is this:
"While we may expect and hope for giant
changes and gains; it is often the baby or incremental steps that get us to
the end."
In the end all I know is I want
to be with the Lord.
