I don’t like the words, "Status Quo". Yet, there are people who never venture very far away from the tried and true, the familiar, the same old-same old, the rut, etc. It feels secure. But–at an incredible price.
Maybe you know people like that. Once we were near Ethridge, Tennessee. Doug, Dereece, Charlotte, and myself. We were visiting an Amish community. The women were wearing long, black or gray dresses in the sweltering heat. Men wore black pants, white long sleeve shirts, and boots. We drove from house to house looking at what each one sold. At one house, cookies were for sale. At another house, eggs were for sale. Then we stopped at a house, where a family made buggy’s. All of these buggy’s were black. I asked one man working on the buggy’s why all of them were the same color. His response? "If they weren’t all black, then we would have to think about what color to paint them."
Many of us operate from a position of fear instead of possible opportunities for God. Something is wrong when our approach to most everything is couched in fear:
- We could begin giving more money in the offering, but what if we get into financial trouble next year?
- We could see if this project would help us reach people in our community, but what if some of our members don’t like it?
- We could move to an area where there are fewer Christians, but what if we began to miss our family?
- What if Dads and Moms live in fear that their children will not like them? Can’t you imagine the permissiveness?
- What if our children fear being rejected on the campus? Can’t you just see the compromise?
- What if the church leaders must have the approval of the brethren for anything they do? What if they are frozen by criticism?
- What if the preacher is terrified to preach what he thinks the Bible really says? What is he communicating when the approval of men/women is desired over the approval of God?
We must decide who it is we are trying to please. Far, far too often, we are asking what do we want or what do others want. Unfortunately, this often is asked long before we ask the most important question that a human being can ask:
What does God want?