Some Stuff Don't Change
Morgan Housel introduces his book Same As Ever : A Guide To What Never Changes , by sharing a story about a guy he knows named Jim who is close to the legendary investor Warren Buffet. During the economic recession that ravaged the country in 2009, Jim and Buffet were driving around Omaha, Nebraska, and Jim was complaining to Buffett about how bad times were, and asked whether he thought the country would ever recover. Buffett answered the question by asking Jim two questions. The first question was if he knew what the best selling candy bar was in 1962. The answer? Snickers. The second question was if he knew what the best selling candy bar was in 2009. The answer? Snickers. Housel then concludes the introduction of his book by writing “that was the end of the conversation.”
The point of that conversation (and the thesis of Housel’s book) is that some things never change. That is a truth that is so easy to forget because we tend to focus so much on what is new, popular, and exciting. And this tendency is understandable. Advertising research has shown that adding the word "new" to a product or a service increases its sales . We should adopt new ideas, new technologies, and new habits. The desire for “newness” even meets us in the scripture. In Mark 2:22, Jesus says that you can’t put “new wine in old wineskins.” In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul says “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” In Revelation 2;15, Paul says “I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” We cannot adopt the mentality of the Luddites, who were a group of textile workers in nineteenth century England that broke their tools to protest the industrial revolution. If you refuse to adapt, you will soon become irrelevant and extinct. Sometimes you gotta put the El Dorado in the garage, say goodbye to the Jerri Curl, and throw away the eight track cassettes. As one of my dear friends often quips, “life is too short to be dedicated to irrelevance.”
However, this tendency to focus on what is new, popular, and exciting can become dangerous. “Neophilia” is the clinical term that is used to describe the obsession for novelty that can lead to horrific outcomes in relationships and business. We must always remember that just because something is new doesn't mean is better, and just because something is old don't means its bad. In fact, the older something is, the more valuable it probably has. Endurance always proves value, tenacity, and strength. The longer something sticks around, the more likely it is to be the real deal. The test of time is probably the most important test of all.
This is why the Bible says in Hebrews 13:8 that “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” For the past two millennia, the name of Jesus Christ has been sounded on every continent, in every clime, by every class of people in every condition. A few years ago, a group of people from our church visited Israel. Our bus driver was Arab, our tour guide was Italian, and we were a group of African Americans from southern California. But as we rode through the cities that Jesus taught, walked on the streets that Jesus healed, and sailed in boats on the same lakes where Jesus performed miracles, it occurred to me that we were all retelling the same stories that I have heard about Jesus since I was a little boy in Sunday School. These same stories have been told century after century about the same man—and they never seem to go out of style. One writer said that Christianity will always endure because it speaks to human nature, not human systems. And human nature never changes. Underneath our skin color, clothes, and culture, people are the same: we all laugh; we all cry; we all need love; we all sin; we all suffer from guilt—and we all need a Savior.
Here’s the takeaway: spend more of your energy finding and focusing on the things that never change. If you find and focus on what never changes, you will always be successful. “You will be like a tree, planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth fruit in his season.”
By the way, do you know what the best selling candy bar was in 2023?
Snickers.