Chameleons — Fascination and Frustration
I cannot remember a time when I was not fascinated by chameleons. Among all of the defense mechanisms that the Creator built into some of His creation, the ability to change the appearance in order to blend in with the surroundings is one of the most remarkable.
From a very early age, I’ve read about chameleons, seen pictures of them, watched videos, etc. At times, it takes some effort to distinguish this lizard-like creature from a leaf, the bark of a tree, and/or whatever else is in the background. It is my understanding that some species are more adept at this transformation than others, but merely the ability to do this is interesting to me.
While I am fascinated by these relatively small creatures, there is another kind of chameleon that frustrates me. The ones that frustrate me are not those who have the ability to adapt to their surroundings built in by God. They are the ones who have developed this ability on their own.
These chameleons are in all kinds of surroundings and environments. At times, they may be difficult to detect because they blend in so well. They don’t change the color of their skin in order to look like a tree, a leaf, piece of fabric, a wall, etc. Instead, they change things like their wardrobe, their language, their habits, etc. in order to fit in with the people they are around.
One of these chameleons may “take a lead” in a worship service on a Sunday and follow the crowd in living an ungodly life the rest of the week. They may invoke the name of God in prayer when they believe themselves to be in some sort of religious setting and/or around religious people and then take His name in vain when they are not in that environment or around those people.
Some of these chameleons will at least make an attempt to dress modestly and respectfully when they believe that it is proper to do so and then show a lot more skin than cloth when they are in an environment where this is acceptable and maybe even expected. While they at least pay lip service to the idea that the church is a family and that Christians are to have much more in common with each other than they do with people of the world, the truth is that their closest friends are people who are not Christians and that they have much more in common with them.
I’m reminded of what the Lord said about John the immerser. In Matthew 11:7, He asked the crowd what might be considered a rhetorical question: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” In effect, Jesus was saying that John was the same everywhere and in every situation. He was not swayed or intimidated by circumstances or people. As those who are familiar with the New Testament know, his “color” did not change even when it cost him his life.
I’m already thinking of one possible objection to what I’ve written so far. Some may view what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:16-27 as an argument for changing depending upon the circumstances. I would invite people who might think along these lines to read that passage carefully. I believe that, when that is done, it will be seen that Paul’s emphasis was on the gospel, the salvation of those who heard him preach, and the eternal destiny of his own soul. While he was willing to adapt his methods, he was unwilling to do anything that would compromise the message. I believe that Paul knew something that all of us need to think very seriously about:
There will be no chameleons (of either kind) in heaven.
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
