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Change Or Die
Brian Mashburn
April 5, 2009
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Change Or Die
A friend of mine in Houston once said something that has never left me: "The only thing that stays the same is that things change."
I don't know why it is true, but it is. Most human beings dislike change of any sort. We hate the inconvenience of it, I guess. The same routine gives us the illusion of peace and control, I suppose.
Just look at how people around you react when they get an email saying the time of their kid's soccer game has changed. An unexpected meeting is called. A co-worker is added. Job duties are shifted. They're out of chicken at Rudy's for today. A favorite TV show gets moved to another night or cancelled. Unexpected company is coming or has decided to stay another night.
If we consider these kinds of changes unpleasant, how much more do we dislike it when we ourselves must change? My wife wants me to be neater. My doctor says I must alter my diet. I should really exercise. I need to stop yelling. My prayer life could use some serious upgrading.
What's at stake? Well, I wish he didn't say it, but Jesus says that nothing short of our entrance into the kingdom of heaven hangs in the balance.
He says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 18:3)
I wish he didn't say it, but he did. And it motivates me to search out what he means by it, and then be about the work of changing into whatever that is.
We may not like change. But I like the idea of entering the Kingdom more than I don't like change.