Be prepared for change, it's inevitable

John the Baptist prepares the way for the Lord by urging people to repent. You can read about it in the first two verses of Matthew, Chapter 3. To repent means to change your ways. Throughout Jesus’ public ministry, He called on people to change. He called on the apostles to leave their boats; He called on the woman at the well to sin no more. He is calling all of us to leave our old ways behind.

Many times, change is forced upon us. Companies go out of business, one company buys another, people get laid off, maybe even fired. Or some new invention comes along and completely changes the business. As long as the world is full of thinking, active people, the world is going to change. Knowledge is going to grow and with that additional knowledge, people are going to figure out new ways to do things.

Think, for example, how the internet has changed things. Consider the travel agents who lost their jobs when everyone started using Orbitz and Expedia. Or think about all the people in the pressroom who were laid off when newspaper design went computerized. Or think about Americans who are losing their jobs as their work is being outsourced to India or Malaysia. Change has been taking place for centuries and it won’t stop. Think of the candle makers who lost jobs when the light bulb was invented. Or think about the blacksmith, who probably had a pretty good thing going until the automobile came along.

So don’t be surprised when change comes. There’s no point to becoming angry. Use change as an opportunity to re-evaluate your life, to think about where you are, and to consider how your work is helping you to accomplish your life’s goal. Forced job changes are difficult but no job is forever. Things change. That’s life. Change is not a foreign concept to people heeding the call to repent.

Comments

[Anne]

Such a timely blog entry today, as I just learned my beloved director has resigned. I am reminded also of a quote from Karen Kaiser Clark: "Life is change; growth is optional." Guess my seat in the boat was getting a little too comfortable...