Do You Prefer Life Fresh or Stale?
I talk a lot about change here. How it is inevitable and necessary but often disliked. But let’s look at it from a little different perspective.
It’s kind of like when kids grow up and do / live the opposite of what their parents did. I’m not talking morals here necessarily but philosophy. Sometimes it takes a couple of generations before the differences are apparent. For example, my parents lived in a time of hard-working, dedication to one company, climbing the corporate ladder, making money. My kids are more interested in enjoying life and making a living (not the same as making money) doing something they love.
The interests and passions of today’s 20-somethings are quite different from that of their parents and grandparents. Some of those differences are good, some not so much. I think the biggest driving point is just being different, not necessarily improvement. It’s like “whatever my mom and dad did, I’m going to do the opposite.”
Maybe it’s partially an identity thing, being your own person. But doing something different from what you grew up with adds a freshness to life that makes it more interesting. I thought about this need for freshness as I read a recent article from WorshipVJ on liturgical worship. He made the following statement.
In hindsight, perhaps I would not have the appreciation for liturgical worship I do now had I grown up with it. Over-exposure to anything tends to create baggage.
It also brings to mind the command in the Bible to “sing a new song.” A one point at the church I grew up in, our pianist could only play about ten songs, which means they got repeated a lot. I think one song was sung three out of every four weeks. Needless to say I still do not like that hymn.
The point here is we can get stale with anything not matter how “modern” the idea over time. It’s important to keep like, and worship, fresh. It’s not about trends or being different just for the sake of being different. It’s about not letting it get stale.
from my notebook 