There is something in our human nature that likes equilibrium. We don’t like disruption. Most of us don’t like a lot of change. We like consistency. We like normalcy. We like routine. There are exceptions to this of course but by and large this is part of human nature.
The fancy word for this is homeostasis – being in the same state.
When the state gets altered there is a fight to revert back to the way things were. When changes happen, something in us often wants to go back to where we were.
This can be true of our weight, of our mental state, and of home life and church life. There are some people who thrive on chaos. If things are calm they get nervous – homeostasis. There are people who were physically abused growing up and sometimes end up abusing their kids – homeostasis.
Our churches haven’t made discipling a priority. To do so is change and we resist change. This isn’t just a doctrinal thing, it is a psycho-social thing. Not all states are good for us. Some states need to be changed for the better. But it is going to take everything we have to turn certain corners, even when turning those corners are essential to our survival. We often finding ourselves resisting the very things we know are required to get better.
Homeostasis.
One Response
In the institutional church change is bad, because it doesn’t yell stability and churches want to look stable. In the church, which is the people, change is good, because without change, struggle, resistance there is no growth and there is no real strength. Change is hard and takes us out of our tight cocoon, but a butterfly is dead if it doesn’t emerge to take flight.