As I sit typing this post, my phone is in my right front pocket, keys in the left front, and wallet in the right back. I didn’t have to do anything to make sure that sentence was correct, didn’t have to validate my claim or consider how or when I made the decisions therein. I know that each item is in each location because that’s where I’ve always put them, a decision made long, long ago repeated day after day after day.
Human beings are prone to develop habits. While chaos can be enticing in the romantic sense, typically we gravitate toward order. It’s the reason I’m typing this in an insured apartment behind a locked door and you’re most likely reading it on a computer screen protected from harmful chemicals and radiation. We like filing cabinets and pantry shelves and glove compartments because they organize our lives and keep that chaos to a minimum. Habits not only increase order, they also simplify the decisions we have to make each day. I’d go mad if I had to do a cost-benefit analysis each time I wanted to decide which pocket in which to place my keys. Similarly, our brains would explode if we had to consider the positive and negative consequences of brushing our teeth at night. Some decisions are better left without thoughtful analysis, thus habits are formed.
Some of the interesting research coming from psychology is on the negative aspects of developing habits. One such consequence is the formation of inertia. Scientists describe inertia as the act of continuing one behavior in lieu of changing to a more beneficial behavior. For example, let’s say the Wall Street Journal wrote an article on how placement of one’s wallet can lead to back problems in late adulthood. They may say that it’s best to keep the wallet in the front. If my daily habit of wallet placement has reached the point of inertia, I’m likely to continue putting it in my back pocket than moving it to the more beneficial front. While my habit benefits me by easing the stress of making decisions, the inertia that is formed keeps me from accepting the better alternative.
The non-Christian community is operating in a state of inertia. They live their lives day after day with the same false assumptions and ideologies, acting out against what we know to be the truth. Though they may even acknowledge the presence of a better alternative (Christianity), they will continue to live the same lifestyle because that is what they are comfortable with and that is what they know works. Tying this back to psychological research, scientists have claimed that the only way to break inertia is to force a cataclysmic event that shakes the person up and forces a reevaluation of the decision. So, how do we, as Christians, shake up the beliefs of our fellow men? Clearly, it will take some drastic measures.
I was at a party one night a few weeks ago, playing some games with friends. On the table in the center of the room was a bowl full of cookies. Naturally, this being a group of college students, the cookies disappeared very quickly. All of them, except one. I couldn’t help but notice that there was a subconscious recognition by the group that no one wanted to take the last cookie. Though the obvious benefits were there (deliciousness), and the motivation was present (hunger), not a single person at the event wanted to be the one to take that last cookie. It seems to me that the current generation is one that operates more out of the fear of upsetting others than the desire to enact change. This is now the world of “acceptance,” “unity,” and “togetherness.” Many teachers have publicly written that the amount of class discussion in recent years has drastically declined, mostly due to students’ fear of arguing.
The point I’d like to make today is this: “togetherness” and “unity” aren’t going to get people to change their ways. If my friend is walking toward the edge of a cliff, I have to be willing to shove him down to prevent him from falling off. In the same way, the followers of Christ must be willing to take some drastic measures to break the negative habits that pervade our society. Don’t be afraid to disagree. Don’t live in fear of arguing. The hardest arguments to win aren’t the ones where the opponent has no idea he’s wrong. Rather, it’s the ones where the opponent knows he’s wrong, but has no desire to change.
Be the agents of change.
In the spirit of your post… Jim, I respectfully but deeply disagree with you on a few points.
+ Do you really believe that a non Christian “knows he’s wrong”?
+ Do you think it’s our job to get non Christians to “change their ways”?
Truthfully, I think the Christian community is a better example of inertia than the non Christian. Using your wallet example, a Christian knows & agrees that carrying in your back pocket is ‘bad for you’, yet he does it anyway. A non Christian either doesn’t know, or doesn’t find the evidence compelling.
To classify all non believers as ‘rebels’ who just won’t do what’s best for them is pretty unfair. Many non Christians have thoughtfully and honestly arrived at a world view that makes sense to them. Rejecting the Christian faith, for them, is not an exercise in repetition or habit, but in logic, faith, or experience.
Jesus said to make disciples of all men, but you can’t ‘enact change’ in others. All we can do is love our neighbor, and speak our minds when the opportunity arises. And in my mind, love involves more than ’speaking the truth’… in fact, mostly love doesn’t involve words at all.
That’s my two cents.