Set In Our Ways

Not only are youth embedded in this problem, older folks are just as guilty when they subscribe to it.  This practice of being set in our ways is humanistic in nature and lacks the willingness to change viewpoints even though the person knows they are wrong.  Stubbornness is usually the foundation supporting this refusal to change.

When I was nineteen years of age I thought I knew a lot.  It was hard to listen to sound reasoning and good advice.  Now that I’m on the other side of the hill I realize how little I know and how hard it is to learn new ways of doing things.  Change is hard for me.  “You can’t teach old dogs new tricks,” applies to me.

In one sense it’s good to be independent; having a mind of your own.  But a person walks a narrow path of understanding when they refuse good council or more advanced methods of doing things.  To be narrow minded is like sticking one’s head in the sand and wishing that people and new techniques would go away.  They are not willing to change, because they feel it’s bad or not needed.  They may not even know the reason; they are just set in their ways.

Changes are usually good, but to remain in a hole of non-interest and stagnation may prove unwise and lonely.  Computer technology is intended to make life easier, and for the most part does exactly that, yet when it becomes compulsive to be on it every free minute and surfing the web for hours on end, it takes precious time away from family members, friends and enjoying life.  New experiences are missed, because of too much time on the computer.  It’s easy to become set in our ways.

Whether a person is young or old, if they cannot take constructive criticism, I believe they are prone to have a non-teachable spirit as well.  There is little forward motion when someone is set in their ways.  It reminds me of the time I accidentally glued my thumb and index finger together with instant, bonding glue.  My fingers were of little use until I did something to free them from their attached state.

At any age our soul can become set in its ways; bound to worldly influences or old ideas that prevent movement in the right direction.  Until something is done to set that soul free from the bondage that holds it, it cannot function as God had intended.  It is non-teachable, therefore, little use to God.

Change can be hard; as is the notion of allowing someone else to direct our life.  But when a person is willing to take a chance and consider the advantages of a new direction toward Jesus, and the beauty of waking up each morning with a song of praise on their lips—change is not so bad.  It’s wonderful!

When a comparison is made between God’s positives and Satan’s negatives, a ‘set in our ways’ attitude takes a back seat to a new and improved lifestyle that the Lord Jesus brings.  When this change is experienced it revolutionizes our thinking; stimulates new motivation; arouses and excites learning; and a feeling of empowerment surfaces.  It’s a brand new life outside the walls where ‘set in our ways’ live.  Bondage is broken, while freedom to explore and experience new found liberties are available.

The Holy Spirit tills the soil of the heart and prepares it to receive the seeds of wisdom from God’s Holy Word, while changing the old nature into a new one.  The heart becomes a heart of flesh; now teachable.  No longer is it a heart of stone that is set in its ways.

Written by,

Papa Boyd