Einstein Was Right!

I am certainly not a physicist, and I make no claim that I can understand the Theory of Relativity or even  for that matter.  But I still think Einstein was right about a lot of stuff.  So much so that when McDonald's was giving out little plastic toys with their Happy Meals, I convinced one of my daughters to give me her Einstein Bobble-Head from Night at the Museum, which sets on my desk to this day.  As prolific as Einstein was, I find the little things that he said and did to be as remarkable as his ability to predict a solar or lunar eclipse, or even explain retro-grade motion in a way that even I can understand it.

Let me offer an example.  Einstein once said, "It is impossible to solve a problem with the same mind that created it."  That is profound on a number of levels, but especially for someone trying to live an obedient life in service to Christ.  Very often the Christian finds himself or herself trapped in an endless cycle of being enslaved to sin and desire.  Then we cry out to God for deliverance.  God hears and responds and liberates.  We then enjoy a time of peace and rehabilitation.  I wish the story could end there, but we are still very much like God's people during the time of the Judges, we ultimately slip back into our old habits and desires and lusts that got us in trouble in the first place.  The cycle repeats itself, for many of us day after day, month after month, and year after year.  We just cannot seem to break free for any long period of time.  

Here is where Einstein comes in.  He understood that it would take something different, a new perspective or a new mind if we are to overcome our desires and misgivings.  In other words, we need a renewal of the mind so that we can put a new spin on an old problem.  Romans 12:1-2 echoes a very similar thought, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

In the end, many of us live life like fish in a fish bowl...going over the same old ground year after year.  But if we make the decision to offer ourselves to God, having our mind's renewed, we can overcome the struggles and temptations that we so often succumb to.  It isn't celestial mechanics, but Einstein still understood a deep and profound truth about the human character that applies to us today.