Some Things Never Change

I once asked a man how often we as a group take a look at our standards and make sure that everything we were being taught was actually still relevant and update those items that weren't relevant anymore. He replied that we never update the standards because they were Biblically based and that meant that they were correct and you don't change something that is correct. He also implied that any standard that we taught had always been relevant and would always remain relevant.

This discussion happened over a decade ago and it was one of those "aha!" moments for me. His answer got me thinking. Ever since I've always wondered just how true that the statement that everything that will ever be relevant would always remain relevant really was. I've always wondered just how change effects us here and now in our Christian walk.

Jesus never changes (Heb 13:8), but does that mean that nothing ever does? I wondered this and searched the scriptures and found some things that I question whether or not they are still relevant.

You knew that there was going to be one example dealing with clothing, so I'm going to get it out of the way. Currently I'm wearing 100% cotton clothing other than on my feet. My socks are a poly-cotton blend, which are a sin (Lev 19:19). As a matter of fact many of the articles of clothing that we wear, regardless of whether they are modest or not, are sinful. Sure, these socks breathe and my feet don't sweat like they do in some of my Holy socks (no pun intended), but they are still a sin. I have found a Biblical solution though and plan to correct the situation very soon (Matt 18:8).

Today I ate lunch at a Chinese buffet, and ate three little skewers of crab meat. They were tasty little abominations (Lev 11:10), but fortunately for me I found out that they were actually imitation crab made out of whitefish. Still it did look like crab so I think it was technically still a sin (1 Thess. 5:22).

I live in Michigan and the economic troubles here are greater than those just about anywhere else. I've always got an eye out for alternative sources of income and I think I found one (Exodus 21:7). Sure, it might not be a recurring stream of income, but at least it's one less mouth to feed right?

Keeping with the economy, I've noticed that more and more people in my church are working non-traditional schedules. I've also noticed that more and more you hear about the person who is missing church because they had to work. Now I know that we have to kill these people (Exodus 35:2), but the thing I've always wondered is how?

Should we be exempting our children who attend school from playing football (Lev 11:7-8)? What about all the good Christian men who shave? When we use the verse Lev. 19:28 to state we shouldn't have tattoos, why does Lev. 19:27 get overlooked when it tells us not to trim our beards? Lev. 19:26 means your steak must be well done and that even medium-well is out. Does this verse doom Holy people to dry steak?

Am I being silly in bringing up these absurdities here? Maybe just a little bit, but only to make a point. If you are going to make a statement that everything that has ever been relevant will always be relevant, then these scriptures are definitely relevant. They are at least as relevant as the old standard that made it a sin to drink soda from a bottle. At least the items I'm bringing up are Biblical (though that term is subjective).

If you are going to make a point of being under the law, you must take it all; you can't pick and choose (Gal 3:10). Of course we are not under the law now, at least not if we are led by the Spirit (Gal 5:18). So in going from being under the law to being led by the Spirit, things have changed, at least once.

We have changed how we do things outside of this massive shift from the law to grace as well. Let's face it, life is changing all the time. Let me tell you that just over the last few years I've seen pay phones, department stores, and dial-up modems become much less relevant to today's society. Carriages will never be the standard of transportation again. The majority of people no longer live on farms. Newspapers will eventually become a nostalgia item because they are on their way out of the mainstream. Why is all of this true? Things change.

It was the Greek philosopher Heraclitus that said "The only constant is change" [1]. Isaac Asimov said "It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be ..." [2]. Why is it that these men, one of which was a professed atheist, have a better grasp on how people work that we seem to? What is it holding us onto the idea that change is evil other than righteous indignation?

This post is not meant to address any particular standard at all and is merely addressing the question of should our standards ever change. I'm simply going to sum up by asking you a question. Just how far should we reject change? Should we just plant our feet and stand our ground every time the word is even mentioned or should we find a way to accept it, deal with it, learn from it and come out on the other side of change better than we started?

Just one additional thought. There definitely are some timeless truths that really shouldn't change, but when you lump everything together and make blanket statements that nothing should ever change, when that very blanket statement ends up being questioned these timeless truths are questioned as well. I know that Gal 5:9 is talking about sin and not classification, but the point of it certainly applies.

References:

[1] http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heraclitus
[2] http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov