Ideas have Consequences

Some time ago I heard the phrase, “ideas have consequences.”  While I’m sure it was followed up with examples and explanations, I don’t remember them. So what does it mean, then?

Something we often talk about within Freedom in Christ is the “battle for the mind.” Let me explain. Ideas come into our head. If we let them rest and muse on them, they can become beliefs. When they become beliefs, they start to impact our actions because we live by what we believe. If it is a personal belief such as “I stink at school,” it will impact our life and those around us. If the idea is a family idea, such as “we are poor,” or “we can’t ever do anything right,” it radically impacts the family culture. If the idea is accepted by the culture at large such as, “I can do it my way,” then it impacts how the culture acts, and what it becomes.

These imbedded beliefs can be either truth based, taken from Scripture, God’s special revelation or from nature (God’s general revelation). Alternately, these ideas can be false. If false, the beliefs become strongholds which produce lingering personal bondage, social damage, and cultural destruction.

Let’s have a look at the impact of a true belief such as, “we were created for community.” My wife grew up on a farm in northwest Minnesota. Christian faith was a natural fiber in the culture. At that time, family farms were all around her and the families worked together and helped each other out. For example, if one person in the community was short of help to gather in the crops, the others showed up to help.  If one family had a natural disaster or medical emergency, the community gathered around them. Families gathered together on Sunday afternoons after church and spent the entire afternoon together. It was genuine community based on genuine love and concern for one another. Although much has changed over the years, there is still a community feel. My wife and I slip into this comfortable culture when we visit.

Suppose there is a false belief such as, “this is a dangerous place; we can’t have community here.” This might be how one feels when boarding the subway in New York. People are in the same physical space, but there is very little, if any, personal interaction. Eyes never meet.  People seek to avoid any kind of touch. There is a sense that one really needs to watch their belongings or something bad will happen. It does not feel safe. Anxiety rules.

So, ideas change the people, which in turn changes their beliefs, then actions, and the whole social environment. For example, while riding a subway in New York, occasionally you might meet a mother with young children who are acting like children. This can become a bridge for communication and a memorable experience. I remember one such occurrence where a mother was trying to keep her son and daughter from eating their ice cream on the moving subway. The moving car shoot and rattled making it too tricky eat their ice cream. My wife and I had a wonderful, memorable conversation with the three of them.  And it was all precipitated by the attitudes of her children. Because as we know, children often have different ideas and beliefs than the rest of us. These children weren’t thinking “this is a dangerous place.” They were simply trying to enjoy their ice cream. Isn’t this an example for all of us?

Ideas really do have consequences.