Recently, a friend sent me a message through Facebook regarding a status update on my wall. My FB status read:
I’ve heard too much – “It is what it is.” My question – “What if ‘it is what it is’ NOT supposed to be?!” Am I willing to change (for the better)?
My friend went on to explain why he thought people refuse to change, even when they know that they should. He suggested that at the heart of the issue was fear itself. We were able to dialogue a bit about the issue, and I thought that a snippet from the conversation may be worth a post. He asked my opinion about what’s wrong with the statement mentioned above. Below is a snippet from the response. Blessings
_____ ,
Great to hear from you! Thanks for the insight concerning the status. I agree that a fear of failure is crippling in many ways. It reminds me of Jesus’ response to Jairus in Luke 8.50. Jairus’ servant just came out of the house to report that Jairus’ daughter was dead and that Jairus should no longer trouble “the teacher” any longer. Upon hearing those words, Jesus immediately says to Jairus, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”
Also, I think that a misrepresentation of God is crippling to folks. Meaning, some persons see God as the “divine puppet-master” who controls (meticulously) every single thing that happens in one’s life (both good and bad). This is such a dangerous (and, in my opinion, unbiblical) picture of God that many people maintain.
The Scriptures portray God as relational and taking the ultimate risk in creating humanity with a certain amount of freedom. We have the freedom to participate with God’s gracious love or we can resist such love. Similar to everyday relationships, we don’t want robots in our lives that simply say the right things and are controlled in their response. We desire persons to choose to love and affirm who we are. In like manner, God desires such a relationship with humanity. Yet, a true relationship entails a great risk that persons will choose otherwise. God, however, took the risk and deemed a genuine relationship with us worth the risks involved.
When someone says, “It is what it is” it seems to line up with the “divine puppet-master” picture of God; as if we don’t have a choice in how things are or will turn out. This isn’t to say that we can have things however we want them. But it is to say that God calls for us to trust in his love and participate in his salvation by following Jesus (by faith). Sometimes in life, persons simply resign to how things are. Their energy or motivation for bringing about change is pretty much sapped.
Fear very well may be at the heart of the issue. It reminds me of Psalm 111.10 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;all those who practice it have a good understanding.His praise endures forever!” If we fear (in the sense of ultimate reverence) anything or anyone more than we do the Lord, then we quite likely will be chained to a wrong understanding of ourselves & others, a misguided picture of God and a skewed approach to life altogether.
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