In this world, there is sin (sin is death…little deaths and the big death), and given time in this world, sin eventually infects even the most perfect of ideas, governments, entertainments, relationships, economies, etc. This is why repentance is such an important discipline of the Christ-Followers lifestyle.
Over time, anything planted in this world sucks up some death (sin) and is affected (infected) by its consequences. The internal reaction – the “heart response” – that Jesus gives us, through the Holy Spirit, to this cycle of infection that happens because of time in this environment, is repentance. (Both turning away from death/sin/dysfunction, AS WELL AS, discovering – having your eyes opened to the New Thing Christ has for you and this world.) The external reaction that Jesus gives us for this cycle of infection is reformation. (Both planned and cyclical, AS WELL AS, improvised and spontaneous.)
Watching Julia Louise Dreyfus break down her TV career on a YouTube video, I thought about Seinfeld, the show, and the genius move they committed when they ended their show’s run after the tenth season. You might think 10 seasons is a long run, yet Seinfeld was still at the highest level of popularity at this point…and they may have had more seasons at this high level. Jerry Seinfeld and the producers of the show saw exactly what I am describing in this concept; they saw that anything planted in this world, given enough time, will begin… dying. This calls to mind a philosophical representation of the second law of thermodynamics: Entropy.
So they implemented reformation for their lives and careers and they committed their hearts and minds to repentance from their experience with Seinfeld, turning away from the show and its routines and habits, and they opened their eyes to the discovery of new paths for their lives they could plant in this world.