Quick, Lasting Change

As postmodern USAmericans we have a strange relationship with change.

As postmoderns we tend to see life as a journey and change as a process. We're slow to believe grand claims about quick change, whether it comes from religious leaders or political pundits. We know life just doesn't work that way, at least very rarely.

As USAmericans we're inclined to believe in change. Things can change. Unexpectedly, quickly. It happened at the birth of the nation and it's continued to happen in the centuries since then. One invention, one courageous choice, one new perspective or innovative approach can reshape the playing field. We know what it's like to be the one bringing that invention, making that choice, or needing that perspective. A New Deal. Twitter. The Atomic Bomb. Amazon. The Great Awakening. Jazz. Abolition of slavery. Microsoft. Azuza Street. Elvis. A Minority president.

Fallout from postmodernity leaves us thinking we can't make radical changes that will be permanent and healthy.

Fallout from Team USA!! has us expecting those sort of changes to arise from the few, the proud, the individuals with strong wills.

Jesus seemed to model and demand hard choices that resulted in quick and lasting change. But he always based this in the love and help of God and grounded it in a community of people who would help.

All this happened for Jesus and his followers in the context of a journey, so that makes me feel good as a postmodern, although he asked (asks) for a lot more than I feel comfortable with -- at every stage of that journey.

Jesus continually redrew the lines and reshaped the playing field. As an American I like that, but I'm confused by his refusal to use that advantage to take control of the situation.

Some areas I'm wrestling with or seeing Quick, Lasting Change: communication with my wife, diet/exercise, and my job.