13 Dec Keep the Change (Learning to change before you have to) Part 4
One of my favorite scriptures can be found in Genesis 39:9, “There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
This verse is found in context of Potiphar’s wife trying to seduce Joseph. I love Joseph’s response. Notice he did not say, “How can I commit this great wickedness against Potiphar.” Joseph did not want to offend God. Joseph was different. He was responding to the goodness of God, not consequence or necessity. Most of us are what I call “consequential Christians.” Like the prodigal son in Luke 15, they respond only to consequences and necessity. My desire is to see a shift in your thinking and help you transition from a “consequential Christian” to a “Christ-centered Christian.”
Wouldn’t it be awful if the only reason I did not commit adultery on my wife is because I thought I might get caught and face negative consequences? Wouldn’t it be great if I did not commit adultery on my wife because I ACTUALLY LOVE HER! This is a much higher level of Christianity when we respond not out of consequence or necessity, but out of a loving committed relationship. In other words, I change because I “get to” not because I “have to.”
Last month we gave you our key scripture in Psalm 55:19, “Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.” Then we started sharing with you “10 Channels of Change”:
- Most people change just enough to get away from their problems…not enough to solve them.
- Most people want to change their circumstances to improve their lives, instead of changing themselves to improve their circumstances.
- Most people do the same thing the same way and expect different results. When you want something you have never had, you have to do something you’ve never done!
This month let’s continue…
4. Most people are willing to change not because they see the light, but because they feel the heat.
When my son was little I would frequently tell him, “John, don’t touch that stove it is hot.” If when I went upstairs and heard a loud scream, I would know he touched the hot stove in spite of my fatherly counsel. If I found him holding his burnt finger and sobbing, “I will never touch that hot stove again, Daddy.” John is changing not because of the light (my word), but because of the heat (hot stove).
Unfortunately, so many of us are that way when it comes to life. God’s primary way of teaching us is through His Word (see II Tim. 3:16-17). However if we don’t listen to His Word, there is another more powerful instructor out there. His name is “Professor Consequence” and he teaches at the school of “Hard Knocks”!
After the prodigal of Luke 15 spent all his money on partying and prostitutes, he woke up with the pigs. “Pigs and pig food” in this powerful parable are a type of consequences. Therefore consequences did bring the prodigal back to his senses but clearly he changed not because of the light, but because of the heat.
Join us next week as we continue in our series…