I the Lord do not change. [Malachi 3:6a (NCV)]
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. [Hebrews 13:8 (NCV)]
I never thought attending a concert by the U.S. Army Field Band and Chorus would make me feel so out of touch with social media, but it did. It began when the audience was asked to choose the evening’s encore by voting on Twitter or Facebook. As the evening progressed, we learned that we could get the latest band news on Google Plus, see a live video stream on Periscope, watch webcasts on the band’s website, sign up for an email newsletter, see band videos on YouTube, tweet about them on Twitter, like and follow them on Facebook, view photos on their Flickr gallery, and purchase their music on Google Play. Since most of us had never even heard of Periscope, we stuck to watching them perform on stage rather than on our phones!
Thinking about how social media has changed our lives led me to ponder the other changes I’ve seen over the years. Was it really that long ago when we waited until Sunday to make long distance calls, a tattoo meant a man had served time either in the Navy or prison, people sent telegrams instead of texts, and young men wore their pants at their waists instead of around their buttocks? Some changes are welcome—air bags and seat belts, no smoking in restaurants and workplaces, shopping from my computer, digital cameras, FaceTime with the grands, and my GPS. I am less enthusiastic about others—going through security at the airport and entertainment venues, the lack of hand-written thank-you notes, airline up-charges, technical assistance that doesn’t assist, and cells phones at restaurants and theaters. Some trends I find downright troubling—sexting being thought of as a “new form of flirting” (as I read in today’s newspaper), clothing that once caused a blush in the boudoir now is considered street attire, teens having co-ed pajama parties, the concepts of “friends with benefits” or “hooking-up,” and reality TV about bachelors, bachelorettes and “real” housewives. Clearly, I’m “old fashioned” and out of touch with today’s society.
Times may change and what’s trending now may well be forgotten tomorrow, but there is one thing that never changes: God. He is immutable – which simply means unchanging. Fashion, science, laws and technology may change but God’s standards never will. Whether or not something has become acceptable to society doesn’t matter to Him. We are not supposed to compromise God’s standards to accommodate life’s reality; instead, we are to change our lives to accommodate His law. While God’s word may seem a bit “old-fashioned,” it is never out of date. If it was wrong then, it’s wrong now and, if it was right then, it’s still the right thing to do!
Recently, I was asked if I’m a thermometer or a thermostat. A thermometer, of course, shows us the temperature while a thermostat shows us what the temperature should be. If we’re thermometers, our lives reflect the changing ways, trends and fads of society. On the other hand, if we’re thermostats, we try to effect change on society to reflect God’s ways—the way God wants it to be.
Which are you—thermometer or thermostat?
You must not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to complete them. Indeed, I assure you that, while Heaven and earth last, the Law will not lose a single dot or comma until its purpose is complete. This means that whoever now relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men to do the same will himself be called least in Heaven. But whoever teaches and practices them will be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that your goodness must be a far better thing then the goodness of the scribes and Pharisees before you can set foot in the kingdom of Heaven at all! [Matthew 5:17-20 (PHILIPS)]
As I picked up another starfish and tossed it back into the water, I thought of Loren Eiseley’s essay about saving starfish and making a difference in people’s lives, one life at a time. Remembering Eiseley’s essay got me thinking about an announcement made last week at Bible study. While a local family was driving home from church last Easter, a driver sped through a red light, t-boned their car, and changed their lives forever. Their two small children were seriously injured and one, a three-year old girl, was airlifted to another town. On life support for about a month, her injuries left her a quadriplegic. Now four, this sweet little girl has more surgeries and months (if not years), of medical, physical and occupational therapies ahead of her. Meanwhile, her family struggles with mounting medical expenses. Although the family does not attend our church, their need came to the attention of our pastor. Being restricted to a wheelchair has kept this little girl and her family from their favorite Florida activity—going to the beach. Since the wheels of a normal wheelchair would sink in the sand, family beach time has been just a memory until now. Yesterday, along with a sizeable check to help with their expenses, our church presented them with a sturdy all-terrain beach wheelchair. This vehicle enables her not just to go to the beach but also to go into the ocean and play in the water once again.
With their huge medical bills and needs, the $2,200 spent on a wheelchair may seem a little frivolous—but not to a four-year-old girl who had given up all hope of ever going to the beach or feeling the waves again! There are some people who will analyze how many mission trips, meals, blankets, immunizations, medicines, bricks, or Bibles could have been purchased with that same amount of money. They may disagree with how the church spent our tithes and offerings. Without a doubt, there is a tremendous need in our world for just the bare necessities of clean water, food, shelter, and health care. Sometimes, however, a need is right in front of us—a need to make life a little easier for a neighbor, a need to bring some joy back to a family or to put a smile back on a child’s face. Sometimes what seems extravagant to someone is a necessity to another—a great wig or a day at the spa for a woman with breast cancer, a davit that allows a paraplegic man to get into his boat again, skiing on a sit-ski for a wounded warrior who’s lost his legs, a week of summer camp for a teen with diabetes, a weekend at Disney for a child with leukemia, a trip to the Super Bowl for a boy with cystic fibrosis, or even a teddy bear for a tot recovering from heart surgery.
Devotions of the Heart 