I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on a phrase that has become ubiquitous, at least in the subcultural pond in which I happen to swim. Maybe it’s in your pond, too.
It’s a phrase that I believe emerged as a euphemism for more blunt phrases, like:
- I don’t like that
- I disagree
- That’s not true
- That makes me mad/sad/scared/confused/etc.
It’s a phrase that, I believe, emerged as secular humanism has seeped into our subconscious, like water from a dripping pipe eventually destroys an entire wall. The same secularism proclaims emotions we find challenging are by definition “bad for us.” And being bad, they are to be avoided. Bad feelings are the sin of secularism — they are to be avoided by you, and when possible, you are expected to enjoin others to avoid them, too. Bad feelings are secular sin because they are an obstacle to secular salvation, i.e. discovering and celebrating one’s true self.
So what is the phrase?
“I’m not comfortable with that.” 
Does it make you uncomfortable that I’m naming that phrase one of the most destructive deceptions that has infiltrated our culture and is slowly eating away at it like dry rot?
If it does, I’m afraid I’m not sorry. Discomfort is our growth medium.
There is a place for comfort! “Comfort! Comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1). Comfort heals.
But there is a place for discomfort. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27).
Discomfort is a necessary step in the process of maturity.
If one believes oneself to be progressive, one must embrace discomfort, not avoid it or disdain one who introduces that discomfort. Discomfort should be welcomed by the true progressive, for it is necessary for progress.
Photo credit: Suzanne D. Williams, unsplash.com
Pastor Mike Moffitt 