Flexibility and Fighting through the Flatland Fog

By Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Are you open to change? People who make a difference can be stretched, pulled, pushed, and often changed. You heard it from me: traditionalism is an old dragon, bad about squeezing the very life out of its victims.

So never stop fighting it. Watch out for those age-old ruts!

Let’s be careful to identify the right opponent. It isn’t tradition per se; it’s traditionalism. I’m not trying to be petty, only accurate. The right kind of traditions gives us deep roots—a solid network of reliable truth in a day when everything seems up for grabs.

Among such traditions are those strong statements and principles that tie us to the mast of truth when storms of uncertainty create frightening waves of change driven by winds of doubt.

For example:

Believing in the authority of Holy Scripture
Knowing and loving God
Bowing to the lordship of Jesus Christ
Committing ourselves to others
Filling the role of a servant-hearted leader
Becoming a person of genuine encouragement

Such traditions (there are others, of course) are valuable absolutes that keep us from feeling awash in a world of relativism and a culture shot through with uncertainty.

However, a great deal of difference exists between tradition and traditionalism.

Tradition Vs. Traditionalism

By traditionalism, I have in mind mainly an attitude that resists change, adaptation, or alteration.

It is blindly and forcefully holding fast to a custom or behavior.
It is being suspicious of the new, the up-to-date, the different.
It is finding one’s security, even identity, in the familiar and therefore opposing whatever threatens that.
It is substituting a legalistic system for the freedom and freshness of the Spirit—being more concerned about keeping rigid, human-made rules than being flexible, open to creativity and innovation.

By now, you’ve guessed where I stand. Clearly, my position is on the side of openness, allowing room for the untried, the unpredictable, the unexpected—all the while holding fast to the truth.

Believe me; there are plenty of people around who feel it is their calling to tell others what to do and what to say. They are self-appointed wing-clippers who frown on new ways and put down high flight. They work hard to squeeze you into their mold.

Whoever decides to soar must first fight through the flatland fog that hangs heavy over the swamp of sameness.

About the author

Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading program in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.

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