Changing Our Minds

Stay the course, but be prepared for the unexpected discovery.

Years ago, the Christian Century magazine published a series of articles entitled, “How I Changed My Mind” – written by a variety of top-notch scholars, preachers and church leaders.

For all of them, those critical moments when new data entered the stream of thought, when the unexpected discovery could not be ignored – so, they changed their minds.

Emerson noted: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.”

What’s “foolish consistency”? A refusal to let new data enter the stream of thought. A consistent disregard for the unexpected discovery – as if Columbus might have sailed into the new world and said, “Nope. Doesn’t exist! The world as I knew it last week is still the world as it is.”

Life is a quest … a constant journey … and God is constantly introducing new data into the stream of thought, and as we walk with Jesus, we will see things never seen before, or we’ll see what we saw thousand times before in a brand new light.

It takes courage, I think to change the mind, and some humility as well – to admit that our former take on things can go in a new direction. “I used to think thus and so, but now I see it differently.”

It’s good to change … do it slowly, do it carefully - keep the windows of your mind open to new data and the unexpected discovery.