It was the biggest TV show of the 90s, had a huge audience and mountains of critical acclaim, yet it was a show about…nothing. Seinfeld wasn’t a clever satire, it didn’t tug at the heart-strings - it was a weekly 30 minutes of entertainment. In the fourth series, as the show lampooned itself, one character was asked, ‘Why would anyone watch a show about nothing?’ He replied, ‘Because it’s on TV!’ In this simple reply the character of George Costanza summed up the reality of so many of our habits. Why do we watch that show? Because it’s on. Why do you eat that snack? Because it’s there. Why do you do that thing? Because I’ve always done it. I wonder how many of the things we do are more out of habit than out of any genuine desire to do them.
• Is watching repeats a waste of your time or a crucial bit of relaxation?
• Are there things in your life that you do more out of habit than anything else?
• Why do you think you keep doing things rather than changing what you do?
• Is this a good thing?
Sometimes I wonder if we’re all a bit too comfortable, that we’re all a bit too stuck in our ways. Think about the way you act at church or in the youth group – the place you sit, the people you talk to, the songs you sing. Why do you do them?
• What are the things in church that never seem to change?
• Why do you think this is?
• Is this a good thing?
During his time on the earth Jesus challenged many of the rituals that the Jewish religion had become trapped in. He turned over tables, called out hypocritical behaviour and shook people out of their comfort zone.
• If Jesus walked into your church this weekend, what would he do?
• How would he respond to our modern day rituals? Read Isaiah 43:19.
• Is your church ready to do ‘new things’?
• Are you ready to do something new or are you comfortable as you are?
