Sunday, December 04, 2005
I suppose change on a level such as relocating to an entirely new place is going to have some sort of impact on your life. Even if you were to resist it in an extreme way, I do believe that there will always be some sort of change that takes a hold of you in those times and molds you as a person. Perhaps not in drastic measures, but maybe in some quiet way that you don't quite realize at the time. Perhaps I will come back for a visit sometime and many of my friends will be shocked at how much the time away has changed me....in ways that I am not even aware of.
Right now a big lesson that God is teaching me is silence. Oh, it would be easy to spout of my opinions about politics, religion, big places vs. small towns, the importance of degrees or whatnot, and I admit there are definately times when I want to do just that. After all, when you are new people tend to be interested in your view or even put up with your rambling opinions on differnet sorts of levels.
However, God is teaching me not to spout of my opinions but rather to observe and listen - and the funny thing about all that is I have learned a lot through that. For me, I don't just want to barge in on other people's lives and try to get them to be more like me or agree with my points in what I think...and I guess that can be a tendency, after all familiarity is comforting.
It would also be easy for me to walk into these people's lives and judge them for how their churches run, or why they do certain things the way they do, just because I think my way is superior or something. After all, what is the value of forcing one's tradition on others, or even following one's tradition if my motives are not correct.
So, I have been forced to re-evaluate why I do things a certain way..and weigh it out....and I try to offer my opinion, which is hopefully scripture based only when it is asked.
Right now a big lesson that God is teaching me is silence. Oh, it would be easy to spout of my opinions about politics, religion, big places vs. small towns, the importance of degrees or whatnot, and I admit there are definately times when I want to do just that. After all, when you are new people tend to be interested in your view or even put up with your rambling opinions on differnet sorts of levels.
However, God is teaching me not to spout of my opinions but rather to observe and listen - and the funny thing about all that is I have learned a lot through that. For me, I don't just want to barge in on other people's lives and try to get them to be more like me or agree with my points in what I think...and I guess that can be a tendency, after all familiarity is comforting.
It would also be easy for me to walk into these people's lives and judge them for how their churches run, or why they do certain things the way they do, just because I think my way is superior or something. After all, what is the value of forcing one's tradition on others, or even following one's tradition if my motives are not correct.
So, I have been forced to re-evaluate why I do things a certain way..and weigh it out....and I try to offer my opinion, which is hopefully scripture based only when it is asked.