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The Pendulum Effect

We are a people that love to overreact. Every movie that comes out nowadays is either the greatest film in history or its the worst. There is no in between. In politics everything the other side says is insane and dumb while our side is the only one that manages to see reason. Things are either great or terrible, and rarely is the sentiment of "merely okay" accepted.

While most of us would probably never admit it, we like this sort of overreaction and taking of sides. It makes us feel comfortable and safe. It allows for an easy definition of who is on "our side" and who isn't. It gives us a sense of belonging to know that there are people who agree with us, and a sense of superiority over those who don't. It's a very easy trap to fall into.

Most of the time this sort of thing is a reaction to what "the other side" is doing, or at the very least what we perceive them to be doing regardless of the truth. It is an emotional response that leads to overreaction and extremes. If the other side thinks that chocolate ice cream is the best, then we swing to the other end and push for vanilla. If the other side wants to ban sprinkles, then we swing opposite and demand sprinkles on everything.

I call it the pendulum effect.

The truth usually ends up sitting somewhere in between the two extremes. Both chocolate and vanilla ice cream are good. You can even prefer one to the other but still enjoy both. You don't have to love one and hate the other. Sometimes Republicans make a good point and sometimes Democrats make a good point. I'd even say there are plenty of times when they are both right at the same time!

This pendulum effect is deeply ingrained in our churches as well. There are many theological issues, both big and small, where it seems that the primary reason we hold a certain position is a reaction to some other group. Sometimes its things that a specific congregation has dealt with in their history, but other times its more broad.

For example, the charismatic movement emphasizes the Holy Spirit a lot. Perhaps, some would say, too much. So how do we respond to what most CoC people would consider an imbalance in their theology? Well, judging by the vast majority of CoC people I know the answer is the pendulum effect. We simply don't talk about the Holy Spirit, ever.

Clearly, this is the wrong answer. The Holy Spirit is God, so it isn't right to simply ignore the Spirit. At the same time I would say you can focus too much on the Holy Spirit. After all, the Bible (inspired by the Holy Spirit) says in John 16:14 says that Spirit comes to glorify and proclaim Christ. The Holy Spirit is not here to point the world to himself but to point the world to Jesus.

There are many other examples I could give of us reacting to another group's position and swinging the opposite direction on instinct. In fact, one of the most difficult to spot instances of the pendulum effect is when we react to views we once held ourselves. People change their minds over time, and sometimes we want to get as far away from the views we used to hold without realizing that we are overcompensating.

The point is this; we should not strive to be different or unique as compared to other groups or even our past selves. We should constantly strive to be true to the person and character of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the where our vision should be fixed on.

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