Change—Bad, or Good?

Posted Aug 28, 09:05 AM by Kay Camenisch

Change is hard. Motivational speakers have told us that for years. But we already knew it. Anyone who has changed schools, moved across town—much less out of state, or lost a job knows that change is hard. It demands adjustment (i.e. personal change) and energy to accept new situations.

The earliest traumatic change I remember was in August 1957, just before my fifth grade year. We moved from our home of seven years in metropolitan Atlanta to Letcher County, Kentucky. Telephone lines were being up-graded in the area making it possible for people to have phones in their homes. Consequently, my teacher thought that everybody ought to learn how to use one.

During my first day in the classroom, we spent half the morning passing a cheap plastic telephone around the room so we could practice dialing. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t remember life without a phone. I thought I had moved to the end of the world. I was also daily teased about my southern accent. Every night I cried myself to sleep. Yes, change was difficult for that fifth grade student at the end of nowhere.

Three years later Daddy’s job ended, and we moved back to Atlanta. Once again, change was hard. I cried because I was leaving my school and the friends I’d come to love. It was hard to start over in a sophisticated high school surrounded by tall buildings instead of mountains.

Even inconsequential adjustments are sometimes difficult. At the first church Robert pastored, he changed the order of worship. Even though he told the congregation he had shuffled the order of things, halfway through the service somebody raised his hand and said, “You forgot the Lord’s Prayer.” It wasn’t forgotten, it was later in the service, but it was hard for that man to alter his expectation of what was right. He struggled with the change for weeks.

Have you noticed how people sit in the same places at church, in the classroom, or at their favorite restaurants—if seats are available? Given the option, we’d probably also park in the same spot at the mall. That could be advantageous in finding our car in the sea of vehicles, but that’s not usually the motivating reason.

Given alternate ways of traveling, we usually follow the same route, even if it has no particular advantage. When putting my shoes on, I always put the right one on first. When I consciously choose to put the left one on first, it feels strange. We are creatures of habit and are more comfortable in our predictable patterns.

I’ve heard many times that nobody likes change. I’m sure that’s true when the change is traumatic, such as the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the destruction of a home. However, I think some people are adventurous and welcome regular change.

In fact, if we don’t like change, why don’t we still wear poodle skirts, bell-bottom pants, and swatch watches? Skirt lengths constantly go up and down and tie widths move in and out. It’s hard to keep up with the changes. Maybe that’s why women started wearing pants instead of skirts, and men quit wearing ties. Not only do the styles change, but colors go in and out of vogue. We move from racks being filled with soft spring colors, to fluorescents, to basic black and white.

How can we say change is hard and that nobody likes change when we demand it in so many areas of our lives? For instance, why is it that even popular cars make style changes every year? My recipe box is full of recipes that were favorites a few years ago but they are rarely prepared today. We change our hairstyles frequently, as well as schemes and colors in decorating, and in home construction. (I never did understand the fad of having a picture window by the bathtub.)

I ask you, do we hate change or do we like it? Is it bad, or good? I’ve been thinking, and I’d venture to say that much of the time, change isn’t the issue, it’s the lack of being in control that we find difficult. Change doesn’t bother us if it’s something we want. It’s when we’re not for something and we’re not in control that we have trouble.

Hmmmm, what do you reckon God says about our need to control?