I was recently thinking about how we hold on so tightly to things we’ve always said or done, things we’ve strongly believed in, even in the face of evidence that proves we are wrong.
As an adult child of an alcoholic, in my mid-20s, I participated for a time in group therapy sessions with others who had grown up with alcohol- and/or drug-addicted parents or caregivers.
I remember well the first session. I sat and listened to each person in the group tell their personal story, amazed to discover that every single one of these young people, all younger than I, had grown up having endured terrible experiences in their homes as a result of addiction. Yet, I was the only one in the group who was not a next-generation alcoholic or drug addict.
These young people grew up under some of the most debilitating conditions that logic suggests should have compelled them to live a different life. Yet, instead of determinedly grabbing for that better life, they repeated in their adult lives what they had endured during their childhood. You might say, “Well, they were in therapy. They wanted to get better.” Yes, I think they did, but most of them didn’t. They relapsed repeatedly, and few jumped off that manic addiction merry-go-round.
The same can be applied to spiritual matters. Many Seventh-day Adventists believe that as long as their names are on the church rolls, that they attend church every Sabbath, faithfully pay tithe, and do many other things that tend to be found on the good side of the checklist, they are ensured of being model Christians, and their reservation on the express train to heaven is secure. Don’t get me wrong, these are all things that as God’s people we are required to do, but without a personal relationship with Jesus, they mean nothing. Making checkmarks on a list does not reserve a spot in heaven. If you want to be with Jesus for eternity, then you must develop a personal relationship with Him here and now.
A few years ago, I became involved in a conversation regarding the nature of Christ. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I believed the opposite of many Adventists. I was stubbornly committed to what I believed, so I gathered material that supported my belief about Christ’s nature. It took me three months of in-depth study to “confirm” what I believed was right and what they said was wrong. I presented my defense and provided copies of all the materials I had used. In the end, however, I didn’t change their belief, and they didn’t change mine.
More recently, I was confronted again with a different perspective on the nature of Christ. Listening to Pastor Grosboll present the evidence during his The Mystery of Godliness sermon series (see the 2023 and 2024 LandMarks sermon series), I couldn’t imagine it was true. I had a settled belief, didn’t I? But rather than rejecting it out of hand, I asked the Lord to keep my mind open so that I could see the truth He wanted to show me, whatever it might be, and then help me to accept it, even if it wasn’t what I had always thought was the truth. I continued to take in the evidence. I studied for myself. I asked questions. God answered my prayer. And now I have a peace in my mind and heart that believing as I did before had never provided.
By the time I was born, all of my grandparents had passed away except my maternal grandfather and my paternal great-grandmother. I was very young when my dad’s mother died, so I remember nothing about her, but my mother told me that she was a very stubborn German woman. She would say something was so, and no one could change her mind. During a discussion about the name of a particular street, she was adamant that the street name was Maple (I have changed the street name because I don’t remember what she thought it was, nor what the actual name was). My parents assured her it had a different name, but she would not believe it. So, they took a little drive and went to Maple Street, and there it was, plain to see, the street name wasn’t Maple. My grandmother never admitted she was wrong. She adopted the new belief that someone must have changed it.
Psychology has asked, “How can someone cling to a belief even after objective facts show it to be inaccurate?”
Adventists can ask that question about the Sabbath. I would suggest that it is possible to say that a good bit of the Sunday-keeping world knows that the seventh day is the Sabbath, blessed and made holy by God at Creation. They could tell you that they know, but they keep Sunday because of the resurrection, because their parents did, all their friends go to church on Sunday, Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath, or for any number of other reasons. They know the truth but choose to live contrary to it.
We see the same in politics. Too often, politicians promise and don’t deliver. They lie, sometimes so plainly that you know it’s a lie the moment it leaves their mouth. And yet, people continue to believe that these individuals have the best interests of the citizenry at heart.
Psychologists call this process cognitive immunization. We make our beliefs impervious to facts, and those beliefs become stronger when challenged, even in the face of the most overwhelming contradictory evidence. These “immune” beliefs are almost impossible to challenge with reasoning and structured arguments.
The Guarded Flower
There are at least two versions of this story, with minor differences. However, the version I am sharing here involves Otto von Bismarck, a German statesman and diplomat, so this might be the most accurate account. History describes Bismarck as not the most popular fellow, but he was an “excellent witness,” as one source described him.
In the early 1860s, Bismarck was the Prussian ambassador to the Court of Alexander II, Czar of Russia. One morning, while visiting the Czar, he looked out a window of the Peterhof Palace and saw a sentry on duty in the middle of the lawn. He asked the Czar why the man was there. The Czar did not know and asked his aide-de-camp, who also did not know. So, the sentry’s commanding general was summoned.
“General,” asked the Czar, “why is that soldier stationed in that isolated place?”
“I beg leave to inform your Majesty that it is by ancient custom,” was the reply.
“What is the origin of this custom?” asked Bismarck.
“I do not recollect at present,” answered the general.
“Investigate and report the result,” ordered Alexander.
Three days later, the general reported that the sentry was posted there because of an 80-year-old Imperial order. Records showed that one morning in the spring of 1780, Catherine the Great, Russia’s ruler at that time, looked out on the lawn and saw the first spring flower thrusting above the frozen soil. She ordered that a sentry be posted to prevent anyone from picking the flower. And every day in 1860, there was still a sentry on the lawn because no one had ever rescinded the order—a memorial to habit, custom, or just “because we’ve always done it that way.”
Sources: alexanderpalace.org/palace/blog.php/a Romanov passion for flowers; inspiring-facts.com/daily inspiration/world of wonders/guarding a dead rosebush
Ready!!
This story has not been independently verified, but the originator has stated that it did happen as related.
In the late 1970s, the NATO army in Germany conducted numerous competitions to keep its troops constantly ready and prepared for a potential Soviet assault over the border from East Germany into West Germany. One such competition was to determine who was the best artillery crew. Monitored by the US Army’s 5th Corps training desk, each NATO country nominated its best artillery section, which underwent a series of exercises. Everything was rated by accuracy and time. Surprisingly, the British army, one of the great innovators of armaments with a long tradition of excellence in their artillery, regularly came in last.
The evaluators took video of the entire competition to better understand why some teams were more proficient than others. As usual, the British came in last, even behind the Belgians and Dutch, who fielded only part-time soldiers. On checking the film, they noticed a quirk in the British drill. After the gun was loaded and aimed, one of the loaders suddenly ran twenty yards back, about-faced, came to attention, and yelled, “Ready.” After firing, he would run back to the crew and assist in loading before repeating the maneuver when the gun was once again loaded and ready to fire. No one could figure out what this fellow was doing.
A quick check of the British drill manual revealed that this was a requirement, but it did not explain why. The British readily accepted that this part of the official drill held them back but couldn’t change the rules. It might have lingered there, but the staff did have the objective of better preparing to meet the feared Soviet assault. If this maneuver was affecting the efficiency of the British team, then it needed to be changed. After many letters and calls, the staff finally spoke with an aged sergeant major in the British Defense Ministry. Explaining their findings, they asked why the loader would run to the rear and wait from that position for the weapon to be fired. His response? “Aow, ‘e’s ‘oldin’ the ’orses!” The following year, the British won the competition.
Another version states that a US general observed the artillery drills during World War II. The gun was unhitched from the Jeep that had pulled it onto the field, then pulled by hand to the firing range and loaded. Once the gun was ready to fire, two soldiers took ten steps back and stood at attention for the entire live-fire exercise. There was no explanation for this action until an old soldier said, “They are there to hold the horses so they don’t get spooked and run off.”
Source: strangehistory.net/2013/08/17/the-longest-sentry-duty
Traditions of faith can be valuable. They may help preserve special experiences or ideals handed down by family or culture. However, we should be careful what we guard. Many religions zealously defend doctrines that have lost their original meaning or have become mere rituals. Sadly, people may faithfully adhere to traditions, all the while remaining unaware of their origins, unwilling to seek the truth and follow it.
Jesus has warned us of a more serious concern regarding traditions. If a custom or traditions conflicts with the law of God, it should be thrown out. Christ has told us that holding onto such traditions makes “the word of God of no effect” (Mark 7:13). It’s a good idea to reflect on the traditions we keep. Do they conflict with God’s law? If so, we are straying from the Bible. It’s like standing guard over a long-dead-and-gone flower.
Other sources: psychologytoday.com/us/blog/true-believers/201603/5-reasons-why-people-stick-to-their-beliefs-no-matter-what
Judy Rebarchek is the managing editor of LandMarks magazine. She can be reached at judyrebarchek@stepstolife.org or by phone at 316-788-5559.