Cognitive dissonance is a powerful force in your mind and life. God can use it to show you something you didn’t know you wanted to learn.
I came across this definition in a secular setting. But this applies to many believers in Christ. And it applies especially to those who think God can only work through their own denomination (Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, etc) or their own personal belief system.
We develop our comfort zone that makes us feel good about where we are in our walk with God and what we do for Him.
What is cognitive dissonance? It’s the discomfort you feel when you try to reconcile two conflicting ideas or thoughts. Cognitive dissonance is a hugely powerful force in your mind and life.
We need to make sense of our lives and beliefs, so we avoid ideas and beliefs that contradict what we already think is right or true.
We can go to huge lengths to justify what we believe.
It makes us uncomfortable to consider we might be wrong in our view of something. This can be especially true if we have had this belief for a long time.
I have found that something might not be morally or spiritually wrong. But it may contradict what I want to do versus what God wants me to do. His way usually takes me out of my comfort zone and places me into the “unknown” for a short period of time or even a long one.
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He made it a point to seek out the people who were the neediest and gave them something that changed their life forever. But the neediest people are not always the ones who are poor or hooked on an addictive substance.
Zaccheus was a rich man. But he had gotten most of his wealth from charging too many taxes to the ordinary people. Then he kept the extra that was left over after he had paid what he owed to Rome.
His own people hated him because they knew he was stealing from them. Certainly they would have looked on him as being one that would never change.
But one day he heard Jesus was coming to town. He was curious about this Jesus that he had heard so much about. Since Zaccheus was a short man, he climbed a tree to see what was going on.
I don’t think he ever expected Jesus to stop, look straight up at him, and tell him to come down out of the tree. Then He told Zaccheus that He wanted to go to his house for a meal.
This radical encounter with Jesus changed Zaccheus’ life forever. He gave back all the money he had stolen from the people, plus even more. Then he became a radical follower of Jesus. What human would have thought that would happen? But Jesus knew it would.
Jesus can radically change the life of a person, no matter how impossible things may look from your point of view.
It can seem overwhelming to try to help those who are much different from you. But the Holy Spirit will help you every step of the way. You won’t get overwhelmed if you follow His lead.
Sometimes it might get messy. But God wants you to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. It’s the only way you can truly help others. And you won’t end up either as a doormat or an enabler to them. The Holy Spirit knows exactly how you need to help them.
God wants you to be a bright light in a very dark world. Those with desperate needs will be able to see there is something better than what they have now.
Then they might do like Zaccheus and run to your source of light (God). They can see that you have something that can truly change their life.
Cognitive dissonance is a powerful force in your life and mind. But God can use it in a powerful way. Living out of your “comfort zone” will never be easy, but OH! how great will be the rewards that will come from it.
You can have the same peace and joy that Zaccheus had after his encounter with Jesus totally changed his life.
