Transformation is A Product of Actions
September 16, 2018 2023-04-05 19:11Transformation is A Product of Actions
Transformation is A Product of Actions
Understanding who we are as human beings affects our actions; It changes the course we are going into and allows us to be authors of our lives (Sodhi, 2013). How do we have access to understanding “who we are?” The single biggest stop is one of identity. Identity is the “who” it is we consider ourselves to be.
Sodhi (2013) tells us that how we “arrive” at our identity is mostly likely to be unintentional. It is usually built from a series of what we see as failures to do or be something. When these “failures” arise, we make decisions for how we compensate for, respond to, and accommodate ourselves to them. Case in point, the childhood dream of becoming part of an exclusive club; how do you compensate to any rejection to be a part of this members-only group? Sodhi (2013) pointed out, “So whether it is one or 10 or even 40 years later, when something inconsistent with how we see ourselves occurs, we still hold on to that with which we’ve identified— leaving us no powerful way to be with whatever is going on.”
We do not know the degree to which our identity filters our behavior. The default filters are usually set by our values. These filters give meaning, determine the aims, the limitations and the purpose of our daily lives. These filters become “us.” We usually only get what “they” allow. These filters have the power to obscure access to ourselves and to what’s really possible in being human.
When we talk about our identity in the group, or the “you as a group,” you will experience how the values of the group will set for you new filters. There are two possibilities in this regard. First, you will only be a member of a group that has similar values with you; therefore living with similar filters. Second, since you intend to be a part of this group so badly, because of the meaning that this group’s identity brings to your personal identity, you will allow this group to challenge and to change your current filters. The latter kind of a group, the one you desire to be in so badly that you will change your filters for, is the kind that will bring about transformation in your life.
Most of the time, this is what Christianity looks like. Because the sinner has seen the light, he has experienced the love of God; he would intend to be a part of the Christian group, i.e. the Church. For example, his former filters included that he would never talk to his father again and that he would never give to the church. However, Biblical principles can challenge those filters. Biblical principles say you must forgive, as well as you must honor your parents. Biblical principles say that the first 10% of your income belongs to the Lord.
What happens then? A transformation will begin to occur as you let go of your old filters to match the filters of the group you intend to belong to. You will also adapt new filters. When before, you did not have filters against gambling, pornography, and lying. You take on these filters for yourself to match the filters of the group.
Transformation does not merely change our actions; it uncovers the structures of being and interpretation on which we are grounded. This revealing of ourselves to ourselves occurs in a profound way that can alter the very possibility of what it means to be human. And while transformation is not an event, there is a definite before/after quality to it. Transformative learning gives us an awareness of the basic structures within which we know, think, and act in the world. This shift does not rid us of old contexts, it simply stops defining who we are. (Sodhi, 2013)
Sign up for the Book of the Month Club and get exclusive access to Archbishop Jordan’s best selling book: The Group: Space for Transformation!
What old filters do you need to let go of?