In Driver’s Ed in high school,  I learned a phrase, “Familiarity Breeds Contempt”, meaning that when you are familiar with your surroundings, your tendency is to relax, which is not good when you are driving, in fact, a study from the National Highway Traffic Association recently found that 52% of all traffic accidents occur within 5 minutes from home. Why? Because your guard is down, you are likely driving on muscle memory, and you are distracted by either fatigue or familiarity, calling yourself home before you’re actually there.

In reality, a better phrase would be that familiarity breeds comfort.  We all gravitate toward the comfortable, meaning we are all creatures of habit. One example would be Amazon.  In one study, it was found that the average conversion rate for the Top 500 online retailer is 3.32% compared to Amazon’s average of 13% (nearly quadruple). Amazon Prime members (that’s Amazon’s loyalty program), convert at 74%. When those same Amazon Prime members shop at other online retailers, they convert only 6% of the time on average. Those numbers are impressive. So, what gives? Amazon’s copy and design aren’t 1,133% better than everyone else’s.

Amazon converts so much better than the competition because it’s familiar. The brand, not just the service or products, has become familiar... to the point of habit. When you’re a habitual Amazon user, it’s unlikely that you’ll purchase elsewhere. Even if the product you’re looking for is available, you’ll check (and prefer to convert via) Amazon because it’s familiar, it’s safe. “I got it on Amazon.” is almost as popular as “Google it.” It’s become the prototype. As a result, it’s become so easy to think about using Amazon that we, don’t think. We drift toward the familiar because it makes us comfortable.

What is true in the physical is also true in the spiritual – We all tend to drift toward the familiar, both good and bad – According to the CS Lewis institute, The most immediate and obvious front in the spiritual battle involves the desires of the flesh (our old fallen nature). Soon after one’s conversion, these desires will try to assert themselves. These are often connected to sinful beliefs, behaviors, and familiar patterns that became engrained in our “old self” before we come to Christ. These desires do not evaporate at conversion, never to be seen again. Although their power to control us is decisively broken, and we are liberated to obey God, more is necessary. As the apostle Paul explained to the believers in Rome, “We know that our old self was crucified with him [Christ] in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin”. However — and this is crucial to understand — we do not experience this new freedom automatically. We must choose to obey. What this means is that new habits, new neural pathways, are actually hard to come by – in fact, one study says that it takes more than two months, not 21 days, to develop new habits, new ways of thinking that control new activities.

What does this mean? Biggest cross-section of the room showed up today with pre-conceived ideas about what it means to be a “Christian” – and without intentionality, you will drift toward familiar patterns, environmentally, theologically, religiously, because it is comfortable and actually requires little of you – so, the idea here is that a NEW LIFE WILL REQUIRE NEW, UNFAMILIAR WAYS OF THINKING THAT TAKE ROOT OVER TIME - This is what Paul is addressing in the passage today in Galatians 4:8-20.

V8 – Here Paul is using similar language to his statement in ch. 1 (1:6-7) where he says the “gospel” they are following is really no gospel at all – here he says that before they knew God, they were enslaved to those who were “not gods” at all – Remember, these Galatian converts were formerly Gentiles, and idol worship and a pluralistic view of god was very common in their culture – 1 Cor. 8:4-6, Paul talks about this same idea in more detail – he is making the case that their worship changed when they began following Jesus.

 

V9 – Important that Paul restates his initial statement – first, he says they know God, but then immediately clarifies himself – he is saying clearly that it is God that pursued them, not the other way around – we have talked about this in the past, but let me say it again; you don’t find God, or find Jesus – he’s not the lost one, you are – Romans 3:11, Paul says, no one seeks God – And then he makes a mic-drop statement: “How is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces?” What are the forces he is talking about here?

 

The word “forces” is also translated “principles” – Paul is comparing their slide into Judaism as the same guiding principles of their former idolatry – That’s a strong statement – Paul is clear here: Jesus is the ONLY WAY – any other way brings slavery, including his former way of life – Paul is saying out his case – “I preached freedom in Christ, you received it, but now you are gravitating back into old ways of thinking” – What is the underlying principle? We’ve been talking about this for weeks, but we all gravitate toward control, or self-righteousness – Paul is saying that their former worship habits were wrapped up in appeasing the gods through sacrifice to earn favor – in the same way, to believe that salvation in Jesus included following the law of Moses as a requirement meant that you were falling back into a familiar pattern of appeasing God through good works, or self-righteousness.  He calls that a pattern of slavery.

 

V10 – You are adopting a Jewish way of life with special days, months, seasons – Paul is saying you are settling on a familiar pattern of religiosity, a reliance on a system, which keeps you in control versus an NEW WAY of reliance on the Holy Spirit to guide, direct and create a NEW UNFAMILIAR PATHWAY for you - This is common in the church today – again, you bring all of your familiar ways of thinking, tradition and habits, or lack thereof to the table – and your bias is to go with what you know, so you will process information through a familiar lens – So, CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

 

V11 – This was not a casual issue – in fact, Paul sees this deep-rooted problem that they would allow old-ways of thinking to drive their decision-making – it sounds like an exasperated person who is ready to wash his hands of them.

 

V12 – “I plead with you…” – this is passionate language!

“COME ON Y’ALL!” – “Become like me, for I became like you”

This can be confusing – While he is saying something similar to 1 Corinthians 11:1, it goes deeper – He is saying, “I abandoned my religious dogma to follow Jesus like a Gentile, and I’m asking you to do the same” – I walked away from the familiar, and I was an expert in the familiar, and I’m asking you to do the same.

 

Then he mic-drops: “You did me no wrong” – Paul is saying this: This is not ultimately between you and me, but you and Jesus – This is so important – when you see someone drift toward familiar old patterns, whether it be addictions, complacency, it can be frustrating – trust me, it can be very easy to become codependent and take on other’s failures as your own as you walk with them – but Paul gives good advice here – “I laid it out for you, but I can’t choose for you – this is between you and Jesus”.

 

V13-16 – Paul had an illness, maybe the thorn in his flesh he referred to in 2 Corinthians 12, that forced him to seek medical attention in Galatia – and God used that illness to spread the Gospel – And while he was there, lives were changed, and he was treated with such high esteem, like an angel or Christ himself, that they would’ve gouged their eyes out and given them to him – But now, when the familiar comes along, he is saying that has all gone out the window, to the point of being perceived as an adversary versus an ally.

 

Here is the truth: Following Jesus is HARD – it’s SIMPLE, but not EASY – In its most simplistic form, the Spiritual Life can be explained like this: HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD and DO WHAT HE SAYS – It’s a simple concept, but again, it’s not easy, because the question becomes, “How do I hear God’s voice?” He speaks through HIS WORD and HIS SPIRIT – Jesus defined it in John 4 as “SPIRIT and TRUTH” – So, every believer is armed with the SPIRIT of Jesus inside, who informs, reveals, convicts, guides, illuminates according to HIS WORD – This is why the SECRET PLACE is the LABORATORY for LIFE CHANGE – you get to know HIS VOICE as you sit still in his presence and allow him to reform you – but religiosity will replace this concept with the FAMILIAR idea of just doing good stuff in order to feel righteous.

 

This week, off the grid in Wyoming – in quiet time, reading Luke 1, story of Zechariah – good, religious man, priest - Luke called him BLAMELESS – However, in the middle of a religious practice, God shows up – surprised, frightened – Angel tells him he and his old wife will have a child, JTB – his response? NOPE! He was so religious that when the extraordinary happened, he was not ready to receive it because it was UNFAMILIAR, didn’t fit into his box – he was struck mute, so while it came to fruition, he was unable to fully enjoy the experience because he didn’t press in to the UNFAMILIAR.

 

Every week, we say “Expect extraordinary God Activity at all times”, but I felt God asking me, “Are you willing to receive the extraordinary, even if it defies the FAMILIAR?” Could it be that I am denying God the opportunity to do the extraordinary because I GO WITH WHAT I KNOW – in fact, he gave me a picture of bowling with bumpers, and what it would look like to the world if I always put up bumpers when I bowl? Counter-intuitive, cheating the system, UNFAMILIAR – But here is where it got cool – I felt him say, “I am the bumpers, and I just want you to be free to throw the ball with reckless abandon and trust me with the results” – When I have bumpers up, I don’t get the credit, maybe lose reputation, uncomfortable, but it’s not about me in the first place – Just like Zechariah, if I am relying on what I know and my own religious proficiency, there are likely a lot of gutter balls in my future, or even worse, knocking down a few pins when something better is possible – Here is what I’m driving home – I AM NOT A BOWLER, I don’t think about or really enjoy bowling, mainly because I am competitive and won’t do things I’m not good at - but my mind went there – counter-intuitive thinking – That’s how I knew it was God speaking, and it was a powerful moment for me, freeing me up to live in freedom and reckless abandon, trusting God with the results.

 

V17-18 – Paul says ZEAL and PASSION MISPLACED is not only worthless, but damaging – I have seen first-hand people close to me be influenced by someone who led them into isolation, and put theological congruence as the price of their friendship – And it was all based on the influencer’s leaning on FAMILIARITY and influencing their circle of influence to do the same – And while it was hard for me at the time to watch it happen, I realize now that a person’s relationship with Jesus is not between me and them, but between them and Jesus.

 

Here is where we close: FAMILIARITY BREEDS COMFORT

 

1. Where am I relying on FAMILIAR PATTERNS out of convenience? You don’t drift toward holines.
2. Spiritually, what am I doing to break up the FAMILIAR PATTERNS in my life? Romans 12:2