Motivation and Principle
The entity "change" is not wrong. The way things have been done for the last ages is not necessarily the best way. The best way 50 years ago might not be the best way for today because of, well, other changes. The best way for me operating in Corvallis, OR may not be the best way for me in Uzhgorod, Ukraine. I'm not talking situational ethics, but rather the most appropriate application of absolute principles.
A certain incident of change may be wrong if the new way is wrong, or if the motivation for change is wrong.
Case in point: the common headcovering style for moderately conservative Mennonites is the nylon mesh cap. One could argue that such coverings take too long to make and the material is too expensive (poor stewardship on both accounts). If for those reasons a church decided to switch to a cotton hanging veil that covered as well as the cap, such a change would be acceptable.
If, on the other hand, the church switched to the new style in order to blend better with a scarf-wearing worldly fad, that would be unacceptable.
If you thought the wearing of cape dresses caused unbelievers to focus more on your dress style than your Christianity and...
1) you changed to something equally feminine, simple and modest, that would be fine.
But if...
2) you changed to mini skirts and tightfitting blouses, that would be wrong. (If strangely your motivation was absolutely fine and you were sincere, that doesn't make the change right. The principle of modesty was missed and hopefully someone would correct you.)
A certain incident of change may be wrong if the new way is wrong, or if the motivation for change is wrong.
Case in point: the common headcovering style for moderately conservative Mennonites is the nylon mesh cap. One could argue that such coverings take too long to make and the material is too expensive (poor stewardship on both accounts). If for those reasons a church decided to switch to a cotton hanging veil that covered as well as the cap, such a change would be acceptable.
If, on the other hand, the church switched to the new style in order to blend better with a scarf-wearing worldly fad, that would be unacceptable.
If you thought the wearing of cape dresses caused unbelievers to focus more on your dress style than your Christianity and...
1) you changed to something equally feminine, simple and modest, that would be fine.
But if...
2) you changed to mini skirts and tightfitting blouses, that would be wrong. (If strangely your motivation was absolutely fine and you were sincere, that doesn't make the change right. The principle of modesty was missed and hopefully someone would correct you.)
posted by Claire at 15:28
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home