Why is the universal appeal to “change” so universal? Why are we never satisfied with the status quo?

I think the answer is Biblical. The Bible says we should expect everyone to be basically dissatisfied and uncomfortable no matter how many different options they change to. Hegel proposed this is the nature of reality, with no moral component to the constant process of equilibrium-imbalance-equilibrium ad infinitum. The Bible says that man is his own problem because of the universal proclivity to sin. So, contrary to Hegel, it is above all things a moral issue, in that the turbulence we endure of constant revolution and decay–which is never evolution and improvement–is wrong.

This is not a political discussion. People are dissatisfied in every arena of life. The phenomenon of constant change runs the gamut from politics to baseball, from boy bands to foreign wars. As soon as someone gains notoriety, they become notorious almost overnight. In some instances the public figure brings his shame on himself. Perhaps most instances. Still in others, the masses tear him down. Why the universal upheaval? Sin.

I think of it like a man with a pinched nerve in his back. He has to keep moving and repositioning in his recliner to try to find some relief, but there is no relief. Only movement keeps him from thinking about the aggravation. So we watch as history ebbs and flows, and like the suffering man, CHANGE is all we have to HOPE for.

I propose a more truly hopeful mantra than change. Why not IMPROVE?

The Command

“I beg of you, brethren, become as I am, for I also have become as you are.” (Galatians 4:12a, NAS)

This is one of the most difficult places to translate the NT into English because so much is going on in the Greek. That is not a complaint but fair warning that this verse requires some detailed attention.

First, we should probably put the verse in Paul’s order so we can understand Paul’s flow of thought a little more clearly:

Interlinear

Γίνεσθε ὡς ἐγώ, ὅτι κἀγὼ ὡς ὑμεῖς, ἀδελφοί, δέομαι ὑμῶν.

Become like me, because I also like you, brethren, I am asking you.

Translation:

Become like me because I also became like you. Brethren, I am pleading with you.

The command is that the Galatians become like Paul, oriented on Jesus Christ, not the false teachings of legalists. Paul understands the newness of life in Christ, the Savior Who fulfilled the Mosaic Law. The point of Galatians is that the coming of Christ changed things, and to go backward as though He has not come is to deny Him. Paul, a Jew under the Law in his former manner of life, has become like them, free with respect to various strictures that have been fulfilled in Christ. Now, they need to become as he is, bound to Christ and so free from those same strictures.

The Galatian error is one of misreading history and the impact of the Cross of Christ. If you go back to the lifestyle of expectation rather than your inheritance that embraces the present realization, you’re a “Galatian.” “I fear for you,” says Paul. We should all become like Paul.

The word become is GINOMAI (γινομαι), a very common Greek word in the NT that usually has something to do with existence or state of being. In English we would probably call it a linking verb. In Greek, though, there are two ways to say “to be,” and this one often means to “come to be,” the change of state from one mode of existence to another. The Galatians are not like Paul, he is commanding them in the present imperative to make the change. This is not arrogant; Paul, like Jesus is saying, “Follow me.”

Elsewhere Paul makes this chief issue of human leadership apparent in his ministry: 1 Cor 4:16 and 11:1 make the issue explicit. Imitation of Paul is imitation of Christ. Friends, this is not just change, this is real improvement.

Finally, it is important to note how Paul issues this command. The imperative that begins the sentence is qualified by the request that ends it. That does not mean Paul is any less adamant or that we are any less bound to obey the command. But Paul is making a personal appeal because he is personally invested. This is the model of NT leadership in the Body of Christ: We offer a personal appeal to others that they embrace uncompromising truth. The Christian way is not coercion but loving, personal appeal.

Three Thoughts

1. By God’s Design, true human leadership involves the leader setting the standard and the followers imitating the leader. This, by the way, is the universal human approach to leadership. Like it or not, even “nonconformists” or “individualists” imitate. A case in point would be the highly individualistic tattoo fad so popular today. An individualistic fad results in exactly what you would expect: uniformity! Whom are you imitating?

2. Change is inevitable. Maybe politicians should run on a similar platform of earth rotation. I’m for it, aren’t you! Go Rotation of the Earth!! Life marches on, and everyone changes all the time. The question is: are you improving? If you are imitating Christ after Paul’s example, the answer is yes.

3. The most important way you can imitate Paul is to place God’s Word as the focus of your life and the ground of your thinking. The key to transformation is the work of God’s Spirit on your spirit through His Word.

Passage to Pray

Isaiah 6

Memory Verse

1 Cor 11:1