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Now for the article:
It’s impressive how quickly things seem to happen in our lives. Some processes are slow and expected, yes, but most it seems come at you with unexpected force and effect. For instance, who could have predicted ANY of 2020? This just goes to show that life was never meant to be perfectly predictable.
If this is true, then it seems that perhaps the greatest challenge of life is learning how to react to sudden change. We’ve all heard it said that “the only constant thing in life is change!” The challenge with change is that it really is quite unpredictable and unexpected, and navigating through it is perplexing and at times frustrating. More often than not, we are left to improvise initially, until we get a better idea at how to navigate the situation.
To improvise, in my own words, is responding to an unexpected situation in a desirable way. We are much better at improvising in certain situations than in others. For instance, I am often really bad at improvising when a date I have planned goes awry, or when my car breaks down and I have to find the problem. We’re all quite bad at improvising in any number of situations I am sure! And some are more important than others. With an eternal perspective, it really doesn’t matter how tactful I am when a plan breaks down or how well I can fix a car. Certain instances, however, require much more skillful improvisation.
In this I turn to matters of spirituality and Christlike attributes. To do this I turn to a quote from Christian writer extraordinaire C.S. Lewis and his book Mere Christianity. Check this metaphor out:
“When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out
of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered
or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected; I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself. Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated.
On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in the cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily, they will have taken cover before you switch on the light.”
(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pg. 164-65)
What a brilliant quote! What a fantastic, insightful, expository quote. I love this thought so much, and it has changed much of the way I view myself and my own development of Christlike attributes.
With this thought in mind, how important is improvisation in the face of temptation and trial? We are often confronted with situations we have never dealt with before, such as a pandemic, riots, natural disasters, death of close friends or family, *fill in the blank*. These sudden events leave our character completely exposed – they leave our “rats” out in the open. And, of course, we must realize that “the suddenness does not create the rats”. We must be blatantly honest with ourselves as we examine how we react to these unexpected circumstances. As much as we would like to, we cannot blame our circumstances for bad behavior.
Learning to improvise well in these hard situations is, you could say, equally as hard as the situation itself. It is that quick reaction that is the hardest to break, perhaps the last step to really achieving Christlike goodness. I for one have struggled with quick reactions my entire life – anyone that played church basketball or flag football with or against me can attest to that. Anger was my go-to for a long time, and in a lot of ways it took an entire 2-year mission to help correct that. Thank goodness we have an entire lifetime to get rid of those rats!
Now, a final thought to close on that may help with this difficult topic.
God does not improvise.
This is something I have been thinking of a lot lately. It perhaps seems a bit obvious, at least in principle, but maybe in application we can all learn from it.
While we, as discussed, improvise and adapt to unforeseen circumstances almost daily, God never does. He, as the omnipotent Creator, knows not only every situation but what our reaction to every situation will be. He will NEVER look down on us and say “oh no, you lost your job? I didn’t expect that! Hmm, what to do…” or look down on the world and exclaim “ah, riots in the streets! How am I going to fix this?” Indeed, painting God in this way seems completely ridiculous and blasphemous, and even uncomfortable to write. This is simply not the way He will ever react – it is as impossible as it is ridiculous. He is an unchanging, all-knowing being.
What, then, is the reason for our own improvisation? Well, it is to teach us how to act in faith. It’s to teach us how to pray and ask for guidance. It’s to teach us how to trust and rely on a higher power. It’s to teach us humility. It’s to teach us how to adapt. It’s to rid us of vile rats in our cellars.
So, when we are left scrambling and improvising, the natural reaction to which can be panic and fear, let us remember that there is One who never panics, never scrambles, never improvises, never fears. He knows us and loves us all. There is a reason that He says we can ask for anything. There is a reason that He consistently exclaims “Fear not” or “Be still”. We must remember Jesus Christ as the reason that these things can be true.
As troubles rage around us, let us remember these words of our Savior:
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
We don’t have all of the solutions. Our improvisation is often futile and does not solve the problem. That is why we MUST remember that God does not improvise! He knows every solution! No problem, whether generally in the world or specifically in our lives, ever catches Him off guard. Thus, as we navigate these rough waters, let us pray to Him to know what we can do. Unity begins by acknowledging and following God.
Love you all heaps!
Adam Simpson
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