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Arrogance: I Want You to Change
By Jean A Sturgill | May 25, 2010
Have you ever been in or seen someone in a relationship that God has said in His Word is not appropriate for them?
Have you ever heard the words or maybe you have said them yourself, “If I marry him or her, he or she will change.” Maybe you have heard someone say, “If I love them enough they will change.”
Do you really believe you can change someone?
If you are single, or if you are considering entering any relationship – a close friendship or a business partnership for example, you will want to heed the following.
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
2 Corinthians 6:14-15
Animals that are yoked together pull together. They are a team. They work as a team. One cannot stand still while the other is moving. It does not work. Relationships are that way too. If you are unequally yoked, eventually that difference will hurt you. As you move closer to Christ, you will move away from the other person.
Question. Let’s go back to the thought that if you marry someone you can change them. What if this person you love does not change like you think? And by the way, people typically don’t change just because we want them to change, and it is not a matter of how much you love them or how wonderful you are. It is a matter of their will against yours, and perhaps against God’s.
You cannot make another person change. It is not your job to change them, nor is it their job to change you. Only God can change a heart. When another person changes for any other reason – except for God, the change usually is not permanent because they are making the change for the wrong reason and without the power of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Question. If you cannot change them, and they cannot change without God, are you expecting God to force His will on them? That is not going to happen. We have free will to accept Jesus and walk in the Spirit or not.
God put this warning about being unequally yoked in His Word to protect you. When you are unequally yoked and that other person is not saved or not walking in God’s will, their disobedience will touch your life. There is simply no way around it.
LIFE APPLICATION
Key Focal Verse:
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
2 Corinthians 3:5-6
Today’s challenge is to realize that only God can change a heart. You cannot fix someone else, and they are not supposed to fix you. When folks attempt to change apart from God, the change is typically not permanent. Salvation is what is needed. Pray for those around you.
Topics: Learning to Walk, Marriage, Family & Relationships | 1 Comment »
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May 25th, 2010 at 7:46 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Robin Brian Simpson and Bernice Templeman, Jean A. Sturgill. Jean A. Sturgill said: Arrogance: I Want You to Change – Have you ever been in or seen someone in a relationship that God has said in His … http://ow.ly/17uwOM [...]