Following on from the Adventure post yesterday, I've been thinking about change. Often it would seem in the middle of an adventure one has to make some changes. Maybe you crash your bike and break part of it midway through a 50km ride ... you have to make some changes to your approach! Or maybe the weather changes suddenly (for the worse) and you need to reassess your path and riding style.
Speaking of change, there is a proposed change in the law here in NZ to raise the driving age from 15 to 16. To my way of thinking this seems illogical. If 15 is too young why is 16 any better? As I read what different people think about the matter it seems that the problem we have in NZ (with our road toll) is not related to the age someone gets their license but the training they go through in order to get it. Apparently we are a nation of hopeless drivers (the exception being myself and N)!
Change! It makes a lot of sense to make changes at many times. Change can right a wrong, correct a wayward behavior or habit and ensure a greater good is achieved. However change can also be futile and meaningless. Take raising the legal age of driving. From what I can tell moving the age to 16 won't solve the problem, we're just delaying the problem from occurring until 1 year later! The real change that needs to happen (from what the experts seem to think) is to create a new driver license system that increases the skill of drivers, equips them with the necessary tools to handle a car on the road, and doesn't just make them learn when to indicate or giveway (although those are important things)!
When you think about church, is it achieving what it sets out to? Is this an honest answer? When change comes in church (and it will come), is it a superficial change (like raising the age from 15 to 16) which isn't really going to do much ... or is it a change which looks at the problem and seeks to address it completely?