Status Quo

status quo

Status quo is Latin for "existing state." When we talk about the status quo, however, we often mean it in a slightly bad way. When people want to maintain the status quo, they are often resistant to progress.*       Vocabulary.com

There is a scene toward the end of the 2004 movie National Treasure when the father/son archeologist/treasure hunter team are leading a group of impatient and increasingly more violent bad guys deep underground, searching for what could prove to be the largest lost treasure ever found.  At one point when tempers were rising, the father looks over to his son and says something akin to: “Status Quo son, we’ve got to keep the Status Quo!”

And that is exactly what I have been thinking a lot about lately!  I’ve come to realize that staying in the “existing state” or within the current parameters of life is NOT always in the best interests for us Christians!  Let me explain…

If I understand the basic meaning of “status quo” as “the existing state” then I understanding it as describing things around me as staying as they have always been… without change.  Well... that may sound fine and dandy to some folks, but I have to admit that it sounds pretty BORING to me! 

Like I’ve said many times before, my wife and I had always been pioneers who loved to discover and explore new ideas and activities… especially within our faith!  When I took my first delightful sip of the new coffee that I had recently purchased this morning, I had to walk over to the cabinet to catch the name of the coffee.  When I turned the bag around it was from Folgers new “1850” family of brews and was named “Pioneer Blend.”  I almost spit the coffee in mouth out as I burst into laughing thinking, “Well, of course I would like it!”

The characters in the movie I mentioned above were telling each other that they needed to not change or shake things up for it might cause the bad guys to react in a negative way.  Within our faith walk though, I believe that we HAVE to actively change the “status quo” in our lives on a regular basis in order to grow, be successful at and fulfill the callings of God that each of us have been given.

One of the hardest lessons that I learned with the journey we took for Piper’s health was in seeing some of the folks we loved, fight as hard as they could to keep their status quo as Piper’s symptoms, lifestyle and connection to the family increasingly changed.  It was pretty obvious from the very beginning that they really didn’t want to be too involved in all the changes that were occurring.

I was following a rabbit trail during my Bible study this morning when I happened across the story in Luke 1:57-66 describing the events following the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and Elizabeth.  Verse 58 tells of how their neighbors and family responded to the unexpected news declaring that: “Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very kind to her, and they shared her joy.” (God’s Word ©) What caught my attention here was that idea that “they shared her joy.”

One thing that I endeavored to do for both Piper’s and my sake (especially for her’s) throughout our ordeal, was to keep the joy of the Lord flowing in our lives… even as things seemed to get worse through the years.  The further we ventured into the untraveled roads of the disease that ravaged her body, the more important it seemed to “Always be joyful in the Lord!” (Philippians 4:4 God’s Word ©) 

I knew my wife.  I knew of the vital importance that Piper put on living with a joyful attitude and I also knew that according to God’s Word, that being sad was the WRONG thing to do when you’re trusting in the Lord and on top of that… that “the joy you have in the LORD is your (physical, spiritual, mental and emotional) strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)  Even as her facial features changed and she could no longer demonstrate her joy through them, I could still see the effects of His joy through the glistening in her bright brown eyes. 

Sure, there were times when her eyes clouded over, but you know… it happened a lot more often when we still resided in California than when we moved out here… Once here, it seemed like more people excepted the changes in her and then chose to change their “status quo,” and reach out to her by allowing His joy to guide their emotions about her as well.

When Piper’s symptoms began to make themselves physically known, as far as we were concerned, we had NO choice but to CHANGE the status quo in our lives.  I firmly believe, and this has been backed up by numerous members of our hospice team, that if we hadn’t changed the status quo and GREATLY upgraded our regular intake of God’s Word and thereby increase our faith… which gave us more reason for His joy, then Piper would have passed many years previous to when she actually entered heaven’s gates.

So… STATUS QUO?  Well, I am not even sure that I like that term anymore… especially when it comes to my faith walk!  Let’s face it… I am in a place right now in my life where I have NO status quo… to fall back on and to be honest… I’m kind of excited about that! 

To my way of thinking, if you always strive to keep the status quo and resist change, then life will just pass you by!  And if you never change… well then… your faith is NEVER challenged and you’ll NEVER move on with God.  I sure don’t want to be left behind!  DO YOU?

Have a great week ahead, and as you do, keep saying with me… “I am expecting to change the STATUS QUO in my life as I actively trust in the Lord and choose to keep and exhibit His JOY as being strong in me!”