Influence / Achievement
Why not? What would happen if...?
"Don't rock the boat," "To get along, go along," "Just go with the flow," these are just a few of the many quotes/phrases we have heard all our lives that promote the status quo. Why is conformity pushed so hard upon us - not only in our society & culture, but around the world. Personally I think it is because we have a internal need (or desire) to be apart of a group that is a reflection of our personality, likes, & dislikes. Think about whom we interact with - of our own free will, not co-workers - on a regular basis. These people normally have similar interests, morals, values & etc. Therefore, I guess we tend to agree out of habit because we are used to being around people (those we choose to be around) that are agreeable. However, still there are other times we agree because we are forced or compelled to do so.
As I mentioned in the prior paragraph, I have an inclination that we tend to agree because of habit and sometimes social acceptance. But what would happen if we began to question the status quo - sometimes just for the sake of playing devil's advocate. A very poignant experience I had was when I began to teach bible study class at the church I was a member of. I, by far, was the youngest person in the class, each member of the class was at least 25-30 years my senior. So here I am teaching a bible study class to people who have been going to church longer than I had been alive. But what was so interesting is that I didn't teach bible study as they probably had been accustomed to. Often times we would go through scriptures and I would ask challenging and sometimes uncomfortable questions. And these questions many times didn't have a right or wrong answer but it was presented in order to spark a discussion; internally within each person, and externally with the class. Then I began to realize that these "discussion questions" we shedding a whole new light on the scriptures that even I had not anticipated. Sometimes I believe the discussions were more enlightening to me than to some of the students...lol. But another thing I noticed is that the students would start bringing questions of their own to the table (I call it coming to class with your guns loaded) and everyone's experience was enhanced. I guess you could say that by the end, to ask "what if" or "why" became the status quo in our class.
In my sight, there is nothing wrong with challenging the establishment and their line of thinking. It all comes down to timing and presentation/delivery. Not all people can be persuaded at all times about all things. Nevertheless, there is a time and place and season where challenges, and the presentation thereof, are acceptable to all most anyone. For me it is not question of "why should I challenge...,"or "what will happen if I challege...," the questions are "when should I challenge...," & "how should I present this challenge..."
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