Change of Mind

Already in this political season we have heard quite a bit of name calling. One such name is "flip flop". I heard that term used today to speak of our president. He had said one thing, or taken one stand when he first ran for office eight years ago, and now appears to have flipped to totally different opinions.

My question, is this always a bad thing?  I told my husband that I was equally guilty of flipping opinions.  Many of the ideas I held when I was younger, I no longer hold as true. I remember jokingly sharing with a friend some years back that I had grown liberal, and she said, "no, you've grown up." Perhaps that's why we change, we've grown, matured and the old ideas no longer hold.

As a young person, I was very legalistic.  Everything came in black and white.  My parents felt that dancing was wrong. They could never really clarify why, but none-the-less, I accepted that. In junior high I would disdainfully reply, when asked if I was going to a dance, "no, dancing is against my religion." I cringe at that now.  I cringe because when I was asked to my first dance in high school I immediately said "yes", and had to suffer the consequences with my parents later. But prior to that, it made a very easy way out, and I hadn't thought about it any further than that. My thinking came when it became personal.

When I became a Christian, I took on many of my parents legalistic views, and as I grew older I added several more of my own. I'd like to say that phase passed quickly, but my college girlfriends would be first to set you straight. I could live my life more easily when it was black and white.  I didn't have to think about the whys. The rules, all the do's and don'ts, set parameters and made me feel safe.  I never stopped to think if they really honored God or not, I just did or didn't do, unless I was forced to question it, like dancing, and then my choice wasn't on spiritual grounds at all.

Interesting that people say something is "against their religion". A religion is a system with rules and regulations, rituals and duty.  The problem is, Christianity really isn't a religion. As I have said before, Christianity is a relationship. The ability to have this relationship was established when God paid the price for our sin. Sin kept us from having a relationship with God. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, mine and yours, and now we can have a relationship with God.

This should make Christianity unique, but we've made it into a religion through the years. So much so that many people don't even know Christianity was meant to be relational. Religions rely on us doing things to meet a certain standard. Most religions thrive on legalism. Christianity starts out by teaching us we cannot meet the standard. God showed us his Law, but it's painfully obvious we can't live it. Only through Christ can we begin to be what God intended us to be.

So part of my "flip flop" has come as I have distance myself from religious ground. Once I began to focus on a relationship, I began to change my perspective. If I put too many conditions upon friendships, I tend to lose those friends. Certainly there are boundaries in relationships, but that's different from a rigid system of rules that must be followed. Relationships can be freeing, especially when we can love and accept unconditionally, treating one another with grace and forgiveness. The world opens up with friendships like that. And that is my relationship with God, opening up.

As a result, I can look at people through different eyes. Things begin to have shadings and appear less black and white. I find that I cannot paint people with the same, broad strokes.  Everyone has a different story. They may not go about life the same way I do, but they are still loved by God. He died for all of us. He forgave all of us. Who am I to disagree with that?

I then find myself on opposite sides of many issues with some of my fellow Christians. It looks as though I've flip flopped. I have, but not on the main tenets of our faith. The differences come in how I live out those tenets. I've chosen to follow Jesus' model. Read one of the books in the Bible that tell us about Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) and see for yourself.  I think he will surprise you.