PATCHWORK WORLD
Studdert Kennedy tells of an explorer who brought back a chameleon which his household affectionately named Billy the Lizard. The explorer left Billy in charge of his butler who showed him to his many friends and associates. When the explorer returned, he asked how Billy was. "Well, sir," said the butler, "it was like this. We put Billy on the green rug he turned green as Ireland. We put him on the red rug he turned as red as Russia. Then some fool put him on a patchwork quilt, and poor Billy burst into a million pieces."
Says Kennedy: "The world we live in is a patchwork quilt, a bewildering complex...patched with the colors of the rainbow, and we madly try to adapt ourselves to its complexities. We change our characters according to the company we keep." And because we choose to be this way, we can not commit to anything.
(From Neal Gracey's Sermon "Commit Yourself to God and the Brethren")