Change. We all want it. We all need it. Who can’t say that there’s something in their life that they want to change, whether it be a bad habit, a sin, a temptation, or even our very lifestyle? No one’s life is perfect, and therefore, all of us, in some capacity, want to change. We’ve completed the first step toward resolution, i.e. identifying that we have something we need to change. That’s great. And in some cases, that’s a very important part. This particular part, however, is where most of us stop on our road to resolution.
I don’t know about you guys, but for the most part, I live my life at the end of this first step, never crossing the line. I’ve acknowledged that I need to change, but I never take the actual step onto new ground. I assume many of you may be with me at this stop. Why is this? I want to change. I know I need to. In fact, I get plenty of opportunities to change. We all do. But we sit on our butts, watching the opportunities come and go, never grabbing onto them. Some may say it’s not our fault, maybe we have a genuine inability to change. Maybe the devil is stopping us, or our responsibilities are in the way. But that is just false. Why aren’t we changing?
Because we are complacent beings, who live in our complacency and our typical routine, and we are comfortable there. We are habit-formers who love our habits. We are sinners who love our sin. And as much as we want to change, our want for typicality overcomes it. We’re so grounded in our fleshly nature that the routine and the typical become dictators in our lives, to the point where change starts to seem lightyears away. How do we stop this it? How do we break the spell we have cast over ourselves?
How do we cut ourselves off from complacency? How do we break free from things, albeit, things that may not be inherently bad, but in our stationary lifestyles, are hindrances? How do we let God take control of our lives and not the god of Routine? How do we grasp change, and release ourselves from the bonds of complacency?
By Standing up. I hate to relate all my thoughts to songs, but Mute Math couldn’t have said it better in their song, “Typical.” The song struggles with the same things I’m writing of. The want to change. The need to change. the prison of sitting in our routine lives, content with being content. “When does it all turn around?” the singer pleads. It almost ends on an uncertain note. If it weren’t for the minute or two long musical interlude between this song and the next. The song has a voice echoing, repeatedly asking, “When can we start over?” Over and over it repeats. The only words it says. Even this, on its own, ends on a sad note, with no completely clear answer. Unless you read the title of this musical interlude. When can we start over?
“After we have left our Homes”
Change begins when we stand up and leave our homes. Not our real homes, mind you, though they may be part of it. Our metaphorical, proverbial homes. The places, things, or people that contribute to our complacent lives. The video game that we’ll spend half our day playing. the friends that are content to do no more than play football and get through high school. the cool hangout spot where you spend your entire day. It can be anything, really. Sports. Church. Friends. If these things contribute to a complacent life, you need to rethink them. I think we all need to rethink some things. We may need to leave these homes, stand up and start anew. That is our first step to changing our lives, and beginning a new life, not grounded in complacency, but in a relationship with God, and glorifying his name.
Lord, help me as I’m learning to leave some of my homes.
