November 2023
When I was a kid, the metric system was a big deal. I remember learning how the US was going to join the majority of the world by fully adopting the metric system of measurement. As an early adapter, I was all over it. I studied inches-to-centimeter conversions and centimeters to meters and on and on. I can still see, and smell, ditto sheets (remember those?!) with inches on one side and centimeters on the other.
Now, decades later, we are still using inches and feet. What happened?
Let’s take a minute to look back. Our country’s romance with the metric system officially began in 1866. Fast forward to the 1960s when a more “modern” version took hold. And then, in 1975, Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act, declaring metric to be the preferred measuring system. The push was on, and the US Metric Board began implementing the conversion. Road signs were changed, and a bunch of other things began shifting to metric. And then, it slowly disappeared. Crickets. Oh sure, we use metric for liter bottles of beverages, 10K races, and when we need it, but, overall, the effort fizzled. The US has continued with inches and feet.
Why is this relevant?
We’re living amid many societal changes, some of which have been brought about through technology and others from medical advances, policy shifts, and agendas promoting different ideologies. From my perspective, some are good and some, not so. I find myself wondering, as I am pushed and prodded to embrace change, if I should just lean in and accept the new, innovative way of getting business done, or do I have a choice?
And then, a small whisper reminds me, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
Boom. God left us in the world warning us not to be OF the world. We are set apart, we are holy, and we have God’s Word, the Bible, to help us discern truth in these challenging times.
A few years back, Tom taught a lesson from Romans 12, focusing on being and acting differently than the world, especially when it came to repaying evil with evil.
Are you falling into the pattern of the world, perhaps thinking you must adapt because you need to get with the program? Let’s all take a page from our country’s metric system history, when there were no huge protests against the evils of metric nor were there any tweets to tens of thousands. Rather, there were many quiet few who simply said, “Gosh, this metric thing isn’t working for us. It doesn’t make sense to throw away inches, feet, and miles. Let’s understand the new system, utilize it when it makes sense, and keep the old.” It was a very effective way of pushing back and holding tight.
We can do that, too, and even more. God’s promises are true. God’s ways are right. Let’s show the world how to be in step with Him, reflecting His love, grace, and truth to an unbelieving world.
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