“That’s the way I am, the way I’ve always been, and the way I’ll always be.” Have you ever thought that? I know I have.
In some respects that statement is true. For example, I’m an introvert by nature; I’ve never been “the life of the party” and I know I never will. I admire extroverts, folks who have never met a stranger and find themselves energized by interacting with people. Me? I like people, but after a while I find my emotional battery running dry and have to retreat to my computer or a good book to recharge.
The same can be said for many skills. I’ve always loved sports, but God didn’t give me the physical tools to be an accomplished athlete, so I’ve been content with being a spectator, watching individuals able to run fast, jump high, and as a high school baseball coach once described it to me, “hit a round object with a round object square.”
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| Successful living means sometimes being willing to turn. |
But there are times when “That’s the way I am…and always will be” is nothing more than an excuse. For instance, someone with a hair-trigger temper might excuse his or her anger as “that’s just the way I am.” Or an unfaithful husband might defend himself the same way – “I can’t help it. It’s just the way I am.”
The thing is, such cop-outs are unacceptable in the sight of God. There are no excuses for thoughts and behaviors the Lord has defined as sin. The Bible admonishes us to “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4:31). The Bible doesn’t add the caveat, “unless that’s the way you are.”
After speaking with religious leaders who were adept at giving the outward impression of being holy, Jesus Christ took His followers aside and declared, “from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly” (Mark 7:21-22). But He didn’t offer an escape clause for anyone claiming, “that’s just the way I am.”
Our personalities and proficiencies may be hard-wired, but sinful, ungodly behavior is not. That’s why the Scriptures give us a term that’s too rarely emphasized these days: Repentance. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising for someone to ask, “What does ‘repentance’ mean?”
In its purest form, the word means to turn from one thing and to turn toward another. Today we hear a lot about “asking Jesus into your heart,” but repentance isn’t always mentioned as a necessary part of that life-altering process.
Biblical repentance involves a change of thinking as well as a change in behavior. Let me offer a personal example. Years ago, I had a penchant for reading horror novels. I loved a good scare and would eagerly devour works of authors like Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe and others. (I actually interviewed King once while I was a newspaper editor.)
At times the books would explore the realm of the occult fairly deeply, but I figured that was part of telling the story. ‘What’s the harm in that?’ I reasoned. Then one Sunday our pastor gave a sermon about the dangers of becoming involved in any aspects of the occult. At times it seemed he was speaking directly to me. It wasn’t one of those hellfire and brimstone, “heaven or hell, turn or burn” messages, but it felt convicting just the same.
So, I scheduled a lunch meeting with him to discuss this. I told him I read horror novels just for fun; I enjoyed the tingling feelings of suspense and spiritual conflict. My pastor listened and then, without any trace of judgment or condemnation simply asked, “When you read those books – are they pointing you to God, or pointing you away from Him?”
Soon afterward I realized I had to repent. Even though some of the novels would refer to God and present tales of the battle between good and evil, I realized they were not pointing me to the Lord. If anything, they were filling my mind with more information about the occult and satanic practices than anyone would possibly need to know. As much as I had enjoyed reading those kinds of books, they weren’t enhancing my walk with God.
I stopped reading those novels, discarded my horror collection, and began reading uplifting books that would enhance my spiritual growth. I began to practice the apostle Paul’s exhortation to believers in ancient Philippi: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).
Each one of us has things for which, sooner or later, we must repent – habits, thoughts, or behaviors we know are contrary to God’s will and standards – turning from those and choosing to go His way instead. As the apostle Peter stated, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
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