I was in the store the other day and a magazine headline caught my eye, it said, “New tricks to drive your man wild”. I laughed because this article has no merit, is anything really new? If the world is millions of years old according to some (I prefer a far lesser number like 7000), why are we always looking for something new?

There is no doubt in my mind that one bright day five thousand years ago, little Amenhotep rushed into the family home asking to borrow his father’s chariot for a “new” entertainment event. I also know without a shadow of a doubt that he received a stern lecture from his Dad about the “good old days” and there is, “nothing new, it’s a fad”. The conversation ends with the Father sternly warning, “Fill the horse up with the premium stuff before you go. Last time you borrowed it, you gave him bad hay and brought him back on empty. I had emission control problems for three days.”

Some years ago, a radio commercial aired with the words; “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” In the British newspaper, The Daily Mail, readers learned over the weekend that researchers can successfully predict where you’re going to be tomorrow and the next day based on the study of your Smart Phone data. The data they say is so exacting, that the margin of error is under 60 feet. We have become so predictable, that researchers know our patterns and the places we will go within feet, days in advance. Imagine the privacy concerns with this technology?

I decided to skew my data, try something new. I visited a community church down the street from my house. The people were pleasant and the message was timely. However we did something that churches since 1674 have done every week; we sang the doxology when the offering was collected.

I believe one reason we’re always seeking a new “thing” in life is that it fills something missing in our souls. We want a little excitement,we want to think that we’re a groundbreaking renegade.

Yes, I know church can be monotonous at times and yes I know the doxology is a great song, but I have a novel idea, can we sing something new? I mean after all, we’ve only been doing it for 338 years. How about “I Surrender All”? With this new song, we might even see an increase in offerings. The good news, it’s 222 years newer. 🙂