Make a change

James 1:21 (NLT)

21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

Here the apostle teaches that we should lay aside all corrupt manners of life. To do so we should humbly accept God’s word that in within our hearts for it has the power to keep us from harm.

A [2006] medical study reveals just how difficult change is for people. Roughly 600,000 people have heart bypasses a year in America. These people are told after their bypasses that they must change their lifestyle. The heart bypass is a temporary fix. They must change their diet. They must quit smoking and drinking. They must exercise and reduce stress.

In essence, the doctors say, "Change or die."

You would think that a near-death experience would forever grab the attention of the patients. You would think they would vote for change. You would think the argument for change is so compelling that the patients would make the appropriate lifestyle alterations. Sadly that is not the case.

Ninety percent of the heart patients do not change. They remain the same, living the status quo. Study after study indicates that two years after heart surgery, the patients have not altered their behavior. Instead of making changes for life, they choose death.

Change is that difficult. The majority of the heart patients choose not to change. They act as if they would rather die. [Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger, Simple Church (B & H Publishing Group, 2006), p. 229; submitted by Bill White, Paramount, California]

God tells us sin has the power to destroy our lives and yet many of us follow the same path as the heart bypass patients; we refuse to change our lifestyles. We continue to let sin dominate our lives and because there are consequences to sin sometimes our lives are cut short. May we all listen to the words God has implanted in our hearts and turn to His saving grace.