Change: Evolution or Revolution?

“No one likes change but babies in diapers”~Barbara Johnson

I was recently contemplating life, as I always do while taking a long walk outside. The question that came to mind was this: “Does everyone change in the course of their lives, and is it always a bad thing.”  To start with the obvious, I am not talking about changing from a confused, slobbering lump of flesh called a baby into a young adult. The changes described there incorporate physical, mental, and spiritual development too broad and amazing to be discussed in a simple blog. What I am referring to is the change from a young adult, say 18 or so, until the time of adulthood. There is a lot of debate about what that magic number is, but for the sake of argument let’s say 40.  

If you took an informal poll and asked one hundred 40-year olds the simple question: “Have you changed from the time you were 18?”, I believe the majority would say yes. And I agree.  I have changed in my views about life, right and wrong, about love, forgiveness, and grace. I have matured in some ways and in some ways I still remain a child. The age of 40 is a hard time for many people. They realize half of their life (if they are lucky) is over and they start to wonder if they have made any kind of difference in this world. It is a sobering birthday. So if most people agree that they have changed, why do people say that is a bad thing? Maybe because they don’t like the changes they see.

Now just for the sake of argument, I propose that we don’t really change as much as we think. I have said a few times in the last few years, “I am not the same person that I was.” I jokingly refer to myself before losing weight as “that other guy.” But am I really so different. Physically I am different. My body is aging. Wrinkles are beginning to appear on my face. But I have the same heart. I have the same personality. (Again, many people debate whether or not our personality changes throughout our lives but I tend to fall on the side that says our personality is pretty much the same after about 16…but that’s for another blog)  Even those that believe a conversion to Christianity changes you, and I believe that is true, you still deal with the same issues after your conversion. For example, an alcoholic that becomes a Christian is now a Christian alcoholic. The temptation is still there, but God helps them control the urge to drink.

Maybe the best analogy for our lives as we grow from a young adult to a mature adult is that of a sculpture being made out of a lump of clay. When we are born, we are basically a big lump. The forces around us, including our parenting and the influences we encounter, start to mold us into the adult we are to become. But we also must deal with what is within us (our personality). Clay has certain innate properties that determine how it will be molded and changed from the inside. By the time we are 18, our general sculpture is set, but subtle changes occur. As we age, natural forces mold us from the outside. The master sculpture (life) makes subtle changes to us that can cause us to look better or worse, but change is inevitable. These changes can be for good or bad, but in the end, they make us what we are. After middle age, the clay hardens and then we are at the mercy of nature to finish out our lives.

So one person says they have changed. One person says they haven’t. The reality is this: they are both right, and they are both wrong. Change happens. Whether we believe it or not…and whether we see it or not.