The book I just finished reading has got me thinking about the ways people change and redefine themselves. As someone who has personally attempted to redefine myself, and as someone who has watched up close while others have tried to redefine themselves, I have become cynical about our ability to simply will ourselves to be different. We try every year with our New Year's resolutions, but statistics show that most of those resolutions have failed by springtime, if not before. Like the cliched leopard, we cannot change our spots.
This is not to say that I don't belive that people can change. Certainly, people can and do change every day, but I do not believe that lasting changes are a matter of will because our human wills are weak. So, if we do not change ourselves, then it must be life that changes us. People we meet, things that happen to us, mistakes we make, consequences we pay, events that are beyond our control. Life changes us, we do not change life. Life may not "will" us to change, but life often leaves us with no choice but change if we are to survive.
Posted by Kim at November 23, 2005 08:56 AMThanks for adding. I guess in the end variations of both our views are held by many.
Posted by: Jeff Blazer at November 28, 2005 10:40 PMThat's an interesting point, however, the Bible makes clear that we cannot even will ourselves not to sin let alone will ourselves to do good. All the good that we do, including carrying out the great commission, is through the Holy Spirit working in us. It's not our will, therefore, that is causing social change; it's God's supernatural power working in us. While we have to make the conscious decision to invite Him in and to allow Him to work in us, we would be arrogant to assume that it is us and our will that does good. It's Him and His spirit in us. Without His spirit, we would be no better off than those in the Old Testament who found that no matter how many burnt offerings they made, they were in the same position that they were always in before. The Spirit working within us is part of the mystery of Christianity, and without it, we would not be carrying out any great commission because we wouldn't even be able to take care of our own souls let alone worry about others.
Posted by: Kim at November 28, 2005 07:25 AMCouldn't it be a combination of both? Outside influences act upon just as we're acting upon the world around us. It's similar to considering the proverbial question, "Does art imitate life or life imitate art?" I don't think one can be said without the other. And to boot, our three monotheistic theological worldviews (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) hold that human beings can effect social and personal change through desire and will. Otherwise, I would think the commandment to carry out the Great Commission would be redundant.
Posted by: Jeff Blazer at November 27, 2005 01:01 PM