Changing the Bells and Whistles

How do we change our basic desires?

That question was asked by a friend after reading my post on the Minister's Ego. I've wrestled trying to come up with a decent formulated answer. Sure, there's lots of quips that answer the question: "Tuning our hearts to God," "Staying God's Word," "Kingdom Living," "Gospel Lifestyle," "Secret Messages of Jesus," etc. It would appear there is a book, article, or essay written about changing our basic desires. Each one sums itself up with a slogan that many churches take and use as their own slogan i.e. Purpose Driven. Sound familiar?

I am not sure what the answer is to the question. I don't believe there is a simple slogan formulated answer that Outreach can run a successful church program off of. Nor do I believe there is a best selling book by a semi professional minister that could fully answer this question. I do not think the answer we are looking for will be found in books, magazines, devotionals, or perhaps even in the Bible. While books on ministry are helpful and often provide new insight into how the church functions, the books only focus on either what's wrong with the Church, what the Church/Christian needs, or a new kind of something. Devotionals, while helpful in maintaining a semi-healthy spiritual life, do not provide us fully with an answer to the question. The Bible, on the one hand, does offer a partial answer to the question asked.

The scriptures provide us with an insight to how we change our desires but those insights have been turned into slogans and calendar one-liners; which is why I wrote that perhaps the Bible does not offer a full answer. The Bible does not offer a full answer to the question because we've not allowed the Bible to do give us the full answer. We've chopped the scriptures up into one-line statements to put on greeting cards and desk calendars; reducing the words to nothing more than words of encouragement or statements. The scriptures no longer hold the power of the story to transform our desires because that power costs too much. In order for us to change our natural desires of our ids, we need to be willing to sacrifice something. Another way to put it is, we need something to happen to force us to change.

Jesus once told the Rich Young Man that in order to inherit eternal life he must obey the commandments (do not commit adultery, murder, do not steal or give false testimony, honor your mother and father. Then he said, the young man lacked one thing. Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor and then follow him. This of course made the young man sad because he had lots of nice things and turned away. The cost of change was too great and the rich man's ego would not allow the change to take place. It hurt too much and the id could not handle the change.

Our desires change when we experience something that changes our understanding. Two years ago, I experienced something that changed the way I understood my identity. I've always been an American Christian. I grew up a Christian and I grew up in America. My identity was wrapped up in my American heritage and my understanding of Christianity in America. I thought the two were inseparable or one in the same; until I spent two weeks in Argentina. My first day there I was confronted about my identity. I knew the language barrier would be an issue. I knew my poor knowledge of the Spanish language would be an issue but I didn’t expect my inability to speak Spanish and their inability to speak English cause me to struggle within myself of what my identity rested in.

We were gathered outside a bank while some of the students withdrew money from the ATM. I realized that all I had was American cash and needed to exchange it for Argentina pesos. I went inside the bank and in my very bad Spanish asked the bank host if she spoke English. She shook her head no and we both stared at one another wide eyed and scared. It was at that moment that I felt lost. I felt that I was being judged because I was a United States citizen and because I couldn’t speak Spanish. That wasn’t the case though, I wasn’t being judged by this girl or by anyone there. When I left the bank, lost and confused I realized that my issue had nothing to do with not being able to exchange money, instead my issue had to do with who did I belong to? What was more important: my nationality as a US citizen or my Christianity? This issue wedged itself into my mind and I spent the rest of my time in Argentina wrestling with it.

In my confusion, in my weakness, I was confronted by Christ as to who I belonged to and what was more important, my nationality or my faith. It was a difficult confrontation and it hurt as I weeded through years of institutional thinking in terms of American Christianity; yet in this confrontation, my desires changed. The desire to be an American Christian changed to be a Christian (who happens to live in America). It had nothing to do with patriotism, it had everything to do with my basic desires, my basic needs. My basic need to be identified by my nationality was overwritten by a new basic need to identified by Christ. It was as if Christ said, "You know the commandments but you're lacking one thing. Ditch the national identity and follow me. For there are neither American or Argentines."

I believe our natural desires are only changed when confronted by Christ. The gospels are full of confrontational moments between Christ and our natural desires. In each confrontation, Christ presents a new desire, a new basic need that overtakes the old desires. The beauty of the gospel is that it showcases how difficult it is to change our basic wants and needs. The story of the rich young man shows a confrontation in which the basic desires of comfort and security outweigh the new desire of being poor and following Christ. Yet, in the same gospel, Jesus presents new desires to Zacchaeus and Zacchaeus' basic desires are changed.

It is possible to change the bells and whistles of our natural desires; however, it burns to do so. I know that is not a good enough answer but it is going to have to suffice for now.