Bending Iron Rods Back

The problem is that we don’t let people out of their boxes very easily.

As my generation was preparing to enter the Novitiate after having been adolescents together in the minor seminary, a priest gave us a talk about the coming difficulties in the next stage of formation. Among the biggest obstacles for growth in the spiritual life was going to be each other. Not exactly what we were expecting.

The reason, he said, is that we know each other so well, that our opinion of the others doesn't allow them to change. Happens a lot. 

There’s a great moment in the Sherlock Holmes collection, where some big brute comes in and threatens the detective, forbidding his involvement in a case. In his anger and a show of bravo, he takes the iron rod from the fireplace and bends it, right in front of Holmes’s face. After his exit from the scene, our quaint protagonist quietly says something to Watson about how much more difficult it is to bend such a rod back to its original position. 

That’s true. The boy that cried wolf ran into serious difficulties because people weren't willing to believe that he had changed. You know, he bent the rod one direction and there was no bending it back. 

We are very slow to change our opinion about politicians once they have made bad decisions. Lots of bent rods there. 

And that’s the same thing we experienced in the novitiate. It was sometimes hard for me to believe that the same guy that had goofed off during class the last four years, suddenly was a holy novice, fervently praying several hours a day! But they were the very same guys. And they were praying. And they weren't goofing off. 

People do change. 

But sometimes we don’t want to let them. And we end up missing out on a lot. Maybe even a possible good friend. 

We can overcome that habit if we try. Just like Sherlock Holmes two seconds later bent that iron rod back. 

By David Yep