As I sat in the drive thru at the bank the other day, I noticed the bumper sticker on the car in front of me. It read, "We want our guns, money, and freedom. You can keep the CHANGE." I quickly realized who this message was targeted at and it made me a little uneasy. I also realized that some people are going to feel the way they feel, do what they want to do and won't really care about change no matter what the benefit of that change may be. Old people call it being "set in your way, "can't teach a old dog new tricks", or we simply have to let them "bump their heads."
Most times, and I'm sure you will agree, we want things for people that they don't necessarily want for themselves. We want our kids to act right, we want our husbands to be what we want them to be, we want our families to experience wholesome and happy lives for themselves. But the fact of the matter is, we can want something for others all day, but until they want to change, we may as well hang it up. I have realized that God gives us all choices in this life whether they be good, bad, or indifferent. And if God gives us a choice, then who are we to force our wants on others? And if we were to sit down and truly be honest with ourselves, we would be able to see that a lot of times if we change, it will change the way we look at the situation. The only person we can control is ourselves. Some of you may have heard me make mention of this particular story from before, but it is one of my absolute favorites to tell. My husband and I use to have three day stand offs about him leaving the shower on and turning the water off so every time I would go to turn the water on, my head would get wet! We would fight and fight and fight about that shower. Then one day it dawned on me, make sure the shower is off before turning the water on or stop sticking your head in the tub! Problem solved. We have never fought about it again! We can only control ourselves. We can pray for others and ask the Lord to help that person, but they have to get sick of themselves before a change can come!
What we can do as Christians is meditate on this verse and practice it: Romans 12:2, which is my husband's favorite, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." We cannot stay in the same place all of the time. We have to constantly grow and seek God. Anything that is not growing is dead. Do an evaluation of yourself. Are you the same person you were five years ago? Are you dealing with the same issues over and over again? If the answer is yes, you have some work to do. Each of us can use a little work in different areas. My issue may not be your issue, but it's real to me and may need work. One thing we do not want to happen is for God to turn us over to our reprobate mind (Romans 1:28 "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;"). The primary definition of reprobate is rejection and abandonment. We don't want to get so set in our mess that we don't have a way out. A lot of times we miss our blessings because we are so stubborn to accept change. Let's humble ourselves and ask God to show us where we need to make some adjustments in our lives (a lot of us already know what they are). A lot of us have the desire to change, but are too lazy or stubborn to put in the work. Anything worth having is worth working for. We must spend that intimate time with God, study the word, get to the root of the problem and get serious about changing by not letting anything stand in your way. Most importantly we have to get sick of ourselves.
Most times, and I'm sure you will agree, we want things for people that they don't necessarily want for themselves. We want our kids to act right, we want our husbands to be what we want them to be, we want our families to experience wholesome and happy lives for themselves. But the fact of the matter is, we can want something for others all day, but until they want to change, we may as well hang it up. I have realized that God gives us all choices in this life whether they be good, bad, or indifferent. And if God gives us a choice, then who are we to force our wants on others? And if we were to sit down and truly be honest with ourselves, we would be able to see that a lot of times if we change, it will change the way we look at the situation. The only person we can control is ourselves. Some of you may have heard me make mention of this particular story from before, but it is one of my absolute favorites to tell. My husband and I use to have three day stand offs about him leaving the shower on and turning the water off so every time I would go to turn the water on, my head would get wet! We would fight and fight and fight about that shower. Then one day it dawned on me, make sure the shower is off before turning the water on or stop sticking your head in the tub! Problem solved. We have never fought about it again! We can only control ourselves. We can pray for others and ask the Lord to help that person, but they have to get sick of themselves before a change can come!
What we can do as Christians is meditate on this verse and practice it: Romans 12:2, which is my husband's favorite, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." We cannot stay in the same place all of the time. We have to constantly grow and seek God. Anything that is not growing is dead. Do an evaluation of yourself. Are you the same person you were five years ago? Are you dealing with the same issues over and over again? If the answer is yes, you have some work to do. Each of us can use a little work in different areas. My issue may not be your issue, but it's real to me and may need work. One thing we do not want to happen is for God to turn us over to our reprobate mind (Romans 1:28 "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;"). The primary definition of reprobate is rejection and abandonment. We don't want to get so set in our mess that we don't have a way out. A lot of times we miss our blessings because we are so stubborn to accept change. Let's humble ourselves and ask God to show us where we need to make some adjustments in our lives (a lot of us already know what they are). A lot of us have the desire to change, but are too lazy or stubborn to put in the work. Anything worth having is worth working for. We must spend that intimate time with God, study the word, get to the root of the problem and get serious about changing by not letting anything stand in your way. Most importantly we have to get sick of ourselves.
I will leave you with this, Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."
Be blessed.
Tarrah
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