This past week I attended a continuing education class, which centered on leadership in a changing environment. Now, we all have been through a lot of change in recent years, haven’t we? In fact, the world around us seems to be changing faster than we can even seem to keep up with. For some, this progress is welcomed. For others, there is some hesitation, some willingness to advance but at a slower pace. Yet, there are more who desperately cling to what is or once was, with no desire to see the slightest bit of change in their future.
The reality is we are all going through changes, aren’t we? Of course, some changes are better than others, but the reality is it is still change. So, the question is: how do we respond to that change? Unfortunately, our modern response to change seems to be centered on individuals and not the situation. We want to attack others who don’t see change in the same way we do, instead of addressing what is really happening. The instructor of our class wrote that we must be able “to separate the people from the problem,” and in being a good Christian, he continues, “the best starting point is to turn to God because if you don’t turn to God, you’ll turn on them” (Rev. Tim Beck, “The Art of Leading Change”).
We see it every day on the news, in social media, and in the corner store. People attacking people, instead of working together to change the predicament that caused the situation in the first place. What happened to the relationships we once had as neighbors? What happened to the empathy we felt for someone going through a tough time? What happened to our desire for peace to exist in the world?
Perhaps, in light of our current context, we need to stop yelling at one another for a while and instead spend some time talking to God. The reality is God’s people have regularly found themselves in positions of being unhappy with others around them, often downright mad at what others are doing. Yet, in most cases, instead of attacking the opposition, they went to God in prayer, seeking a divine solution to what was transpiring. Instead of insisting on our own way, we should seek God’s way. After all that is what the Lord’s Prayer says, doesn’t it… “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Change is inevitable – all things change in time. The real question is, how are we going to handle it? With disdain for others, or with the assistance of God to see us through it?
Always pondering,
Pastor Steve
