Malachi 3:6: I, the Lord do not change.
Numbers 23:19: God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has He said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
I’ve read hundreds of books on business, leadership, and change. When you write an article or a blog those who know these things say that it is best to title “3 Ways” or “4 Attitudes” or “5 Things to Avoid”.
One expert said to keep the list short, and not being an expert, I didn’t choose “3” or “5” for my title – I’m right in the middle by emphasizing “4”. (Which is the scientific reason that you are reading my blog right now!)
Oops! I just remembered reading a book a gazillion years ago with the title of “The 7 Habits…” and this book is still selling gazillions of copies!
Every one of the books, blogs, articles, and podcasts that I have read, watched, or listened to have missed the ultimate reason for change. And because the reason for change has been missed, all the lists of “3” or “4” or “5” and not “6” (because “6” is too long), are wrong. You have permission to use “7” in your list but you will still be misguided!
My list is:
The One Reason for Change and the One Thing That You Need to Do About It
That reason: The prophet Malachi writes: “I, the Lord, do not change.” And Moses writes in Numbers: “God is not like a man who changes his mind.”
God is eternal, perfect, all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere, loving, good, great, and eternal. We are not. God created us in His image. We decided to walk away from God.
That is when change began.
All of change is either continuing to walk away from God or turning around (the Bible calls this “repentance”) and walking back to God. God doesn’t change and He is complete. You change when you walk away from God and you change when you return.
Walking away from God is bad! When we walk away from God life gets complex, confusing, and defeating. We try to help with lists – in books, magazines, posts, and posters.
“Three Ways to Get Someone to Love You”
“Four Attitudes to Assert Yourself”
“Five Types of People to Avoid”
Six … Oops!
“Seven Habits that Bring Health, Wealth, and Misery”
The reason that we need all the numbered lists is the deceitfulness of change. We think we can fix it; we try to fix it; and we can’t fix it. No worries, there is a new list that everyone is discussing right now. And then another, and then another.
Tiring…
As there is only one thing that you need to do – turn around!