I was afraid of overcorrecting: Confession #67

By On June 27, 2011 · 6 Comments

I recently read a blog post by author Rachel Held Evans about overcorrecting. She warns against the potential danger of losing valuable beliefs or traditions from our pasts as we try to correct for error.

In our efforts to get it right, we may actually go too far. Instead of being in the center, we may find ourselves on the other side of the line.

Although I agree with Evans, I struggled with the opposite problem.

My fear of overcorrection paralyzed me so much that I remained firmly fixed in my position, afraid to make any changes at all.

Having a conservative background, my greatest fear was becoming less conservative. I can’t say that becoming liberal was a real concern because liberalism was so far off my chart that I was in no real danger. You have to learn to crawl before you can learn to walk.

In my journey God eventually brought me to a place where I purposed to change and navigate my way closer to the center. I expressed this to a friend who shared the same fear that I carried for so many years.

Center line

“But what if you go so far to the center that you your cross the line and you actually do become liberal?” he asked.

There are two problems with this statement.

1. That traveling to the left of center is bad.

2. That overcorrection is not correctable.

I have found neither of these to be true or relevant.

Despite its improbability, even if this fear became reality, being a little left of center would still have been much closer to the middle then I ever was in my ultra-conservative position.

I needed a major correction just so that I could get off the shoulder and actually see the dividing center line.

How did I get past this fear? I finally decided that if I went too far then this too was correctable. If I found myself in some sort of error, I could repent and get back closer to the center once again.

In many ways our lives should resemble this pattern. If we are truly searching for the center line, then we will constantly be going too far in one direction or the other always willing to make the change needed to get back to the center.

Our other option is to sit on the shoulder afraid of what the road might really look like.

Have you ever overcorrected? Do you drive your car on the shoulder?

 

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  • MarieP

    Another problem is that the terms “conservative” and “liberal” are fairly relative.  “Conservative” and “liberal” as compared to what or whom?  Compared to the United Church of Christ or to the Independent Fundamental Churches of America?  Also, in what way are they liberal or conservative?  Are they liberal because they deny the deity of Christ and the authority of Scripture, or are they liberal because they believe in women deacons and that textual criticism has a role in Biblical scholarship?

    How about we ask, “Am I liberal or conservative in regards to God?”  I want to believe everything He is and says, and practice everything He commands of me.

    • MarieP

      Just to make clear, in case anyone reading this wonders, I don’t believe in women deacons (but do think textual criticism has its place).  My point was, are these issues the main things, or are they things we can disagree on.

    • http://jeremysconfessions.com Jeremy Statton

      You are right, that liberal and conservatism are qualitative terms and their exact meaning are dependent on your perspective. I did not completely define these terms for me because it may mean something different for you. I am also with you wanting to believe what he says practice what he tells me. 

      But is everything he says completely clear? Is scripture a formula that tells us everything about God? Can we actually do everything that he says? Are the ways that we interpret what he says, really what he says, or are our interpretations also affected by our sin nature? 

      My point is that I was so caught up in my set of beliefs and perspective, that I had trouble seeing what God may actually have said.

      • MarieP

        “But is everything he says completely clear?”

        I would say no- even Peter says that!

        “Is scripture a formula that
        tells us everything about God?”

        I would say no to this as well.  It’s certainly the only infallible rule (though human interpretation is certainly fallible).  It’s not a formula either.  The Word is living and active, a double edged sword.  The Bible was given so we can know, love, and serve God, it’s not so we can puff our heads up with knowledge.

        “Can we actually do everything that he
        says?”

        Not perfectly, no.  But we can obey because Christ has made us slaves of righteousness.

        “Are the ways that we interpret what he says, really what he says,
        or are our interpretations also affected by our sin nature?”

        Yes, our interpretations are affected by our sin nature.  That’s why we need God to give us wisdom and understanding by the Spirit as we study and meditate.

        “My
        point is that I was so caught up in my set of beliefs and perspective,
        that I had trouble seeing what God may actually have said.”

        I’ve been there, done that.  I once heard someone say, “Those who think they have no traditions are the most blind to their traditions.”  For me, it was the study of apologetics, as good as that can be.  I was reading the Bible to know what Jesus didn’t say rather than what He did say.  I was more concerned about what God was not than with who He is.   Thankfully, God showed me all that several years ago.  I’m sure I still have traditions- but I believe I am more prepared to spot them than I was before.

  • Joshua Wulf

    I’ve been going through some of your posts today. Ouch. I feel like I could have written these… except yours are in past tense: (I WAS afraid of overcorrecting) and my posts would be more present tense: (I AM afraid of overcorrecting). I knew I wasn’t the only one that has felt this way, but it’s awesome to see exactly what I’ve been feeling for two years written by someone else.

    • http://jeremysconfessions.com Jeremy Statton

      Past and present tense still apply to me unfortunately. For me it’s a process. Writing about it is part of that process.

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