Most of us find ourselves in one box or another. The box is ideological, theological, or methodological. In any given box are a group of people who share common ideals, common values, or common methods, individuals who respect, cherish, and cling to one another because they agree on most issues.
A few characteristics of box dwellers are that, 1) they are in the box by choice or simply because they have never known life outside the box they are in, 2) they are held captive in the box by their need to be accepted by the group that dwells in the box with them or due to the fact that they will lose their sustenance if they leave the box, 3) they find a sense of belonging and security in the box they are captured in, 4) they have risen to a place of prominence in the box they are in and to leave it would mean losing, not only their audience, but also their influence and identity.
There are 7 great reasons to do all in your power to escape the box you are trapped in.
1. Box dwellers seldom learn to think for themselves.
2. Box dwellers tend to see those who are in a different box or in no box at all as the enemy when they may be their brother or sister in Christ.
3. Box dwellers are apt to accept cultural and secular norms even if those norms contradict biblical expectations.
4. Box dwellers often miss hearing from God because the group think taking place inside the box they are in drowns out God’s radical voice, especially when He contradicts the majority.
5. Box dwellers are more apt to become legalists if in a box where legalism is the norm.
6. Box dwellers find such safety in the box that they never know the thrill of exiting the box and journeying into unknown, exciting places.
7. Box dwellers will never change the world as they embrace what is and never consider what might be.
Just to clarify… I mentioned the theological box in the second sentence of this blog post. If you are in a theological box that looks much like and directs people to live life like Jesus, remain in the box. If the theological box you’re in is exclusive, legalistic, purposefully divisive, or takes advantage of the freedoms Christ offers, claw your way out as soon as possible. It’ll kill your heart and is already wounding the body of Christ.
