4th Sunday of Lent, 2022 - More Foolishness

“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, and expecting a different result.” This quote, attributed to Albert Einstein, lies at the heart of the AA movement. It proclaims the seemingly not-so-obvious truth that if we want a different result, we have to change what we are doing. The problem is we humans don’t like change. We prefer the familiarity of what we know over the uncertainty of the unknown — even when what we know does not work or is not satisfying.

Change involves challenge. It requires thinking and learning. It requires us to adapt in light of our new understanding. Change requires intentionality and the exercise of our will. It involves the imagination that can envision something better and the courage to pursue it. Change requires us to be self-responsible. It requires emotional and spiritual maturity.

It seems we humans prefer the comfort of what is over the challenge of what could be. We deflect any sense of responsibility for what is by blaming someone else for our situation.

Our aversion to change ignores the abilities God gave us to create change — our imagination to envision what could be, our ability to evaluate and draw conclusions, our creativity that allows us to design and plan, our will that allows us to choose and act. God created us with the capacity to make change happen. Our aversion to change denies the image of God that lies at the core of our being.

It seems to me our resistance to change is a spiritual issue. It is a refusal to participate in life as God designed it. God created us with the capacity to grow. Life is essentially a progression through stages of development. As we grow, we leave behind one stage of life to move into a more mature stage in which life is more fulfilling as well as more challenging. The essence of the spiritual journey is putting off the old and putting on the new (Ephesians 4:21-24, Colossians 3:9b-11) by means of learning to think differently. Paul said we are transformed by the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2). That new way of thinking leads us beyond our conformity to the way the world trained us to think and live (Romans 12:2a). Resisting change is resisting the growth for which we were created and the maturity God desires for us. We could go so far as to say resisting change is Sin.

Change begins with acknowledging what is. It starts with taking an honest look at what is — evaluation and assessment. The willingness to change is fueled by the recognition of a need for change. Until we identity the need for change, we will resist it. The willingness to change is also fueled by a vision of and desire for what could be. When dissatisfaction with what is is coupled with a vision and desire for what could be, change becomes possible.  

The prophets Isaiah and Micah penned a vision of a time when the nations of the world would change (Isaiah 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-4). The nations would turn to Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God, to learn the ways of God.

            Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

            to the house of the God of Jacob;

            that he may teach us his ways

            and that we may walk in his paths” (Isaiah 2:2).

As they learned the ways of God and put them into practice, they would

            beat their swords into plowshares,

            and their spears into pruning hooks;

            nation shall not lift up sword against nation;

            neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4).

The ways of God would move the nations beyond their innate us-them thinking and their fear of the other. With their thinking shaped by the ways of God, they would move beyond scarcity thinking in which there was not enough for everyone. They would no longer use their power against the other, seeking to destroy them and claiming for themselves what the other possessed. Their resources and energies would no longer be invested in the tools of war. Instead, they would be invested in tools for cultivating and harvesting the earth’s resources.

I have often wondered what prompted the nations to turn to God to learn the ways of God. The answer I keep coming back to is they finally realized that what they were doing wasn’t working. “Hmm. That didn’t work. I don’t think I’ll do that again.”

But, then, we humans don’t like change. We prefer to keep doing the same things over and over because they are familiar and comfortable, even when they don’t work.  

Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, and expecting a different result.

I keep longing for and believing in the day Isaiah envisioned — when the nations of the world will turn to God to learn the ways of God, when they will abandon the ways of war, when they will invest their resources, energies, and creativity in producing enough for everyone to have all they need to live without want.

But, then, perhaps my longing and believing is just more foolishness. If it is, it is the foolishness of God. So I guess I’ll just keep on being a fool for Christ (1 Corinthians 4:10).