The most dramatic and effective changes in life involve not changing what we do, but changing what we are.
It is important to note, however, that simple knowledge of these laws will do nothing. Knowing the answer does not necessarily solve a problem. Drug addicts laying in the gutter usually know what their problem is and they usually know what the answer is, but, it does them little good as long as they don’t put this answer into practice.
In order for drug addicts to change they have to want to change, they have to want to change MORE than they want to continue using drugs and they have to believe it is possible to change. Even with all of this, the change still will not really take place unless their very nature changes.
Losers in life generally continue to lose, because it is their nature. Even if you give them every physical thing needed for success and put them into an environment where success seems assured, they will still fail. Why? Because it is their nature.
You can’t teach a caterpillar to fly. No matter how hard you try, the caterpillar will continue to crawl because that is its nature. In order for a caterpillar to fly it must go through a complete metamorphosis. It must actually change what it is. It must get a new nature. When a caterpillar goes through such a dramatic change that it is no longer a caterpillar…when it becomes a butterfly…then it will fly. In fact, at that point the caterpillar cannot help but fly, because flying now IS its nature.
Our role and God’s role
It is important to note that a caterpillar cannot make itself into a butterfly. God does this. A caterpillar could theoretically prevent itself from becoming a butterfly. It could stop eating, it could refuse to make a cocoon, etc., but it cannot cause the actual metamorphosis to happen. Likewise, it is God that brings about a change of nature in us. We can’t MAKE it happen, but we do play a role. We can fight against it, or we can work in tandem with God for it. If we work towards the change, God will work with us and it will happen.
It is especially important to note that a third party also cannot make a caterpillar into a butterfly. It is largely a thing between God and the caterpillar. A third party (a child studying insects in school, for example) cannot make the caterpillar change. The child can assist the process…give the caterpillar leaves, protect it from the weather, etc….or the child can hinder the process. But the child can’t MAKE the process happen. A child CAN make a caterpillar fly…at least briefly. The child can toss the caterpillar into the air. But this is a change of behavior not a change of nature. As soon as the child leaves the picture the caterpillar…if it is still alive…will go right back to crawling.
In the same way
we cannot MAKE other people change their nature. It is a thing that is just
between them and God. We can change their behavior for brief periods of time by
using guilt, pressure or a variety of manipulation tactics, but, as soon as we
leave the picture, …if the person is still alive… the person will go right back
to doing what it is their nature to do.
God changes people’s nature and God does it when the other person wants it to happen…NOT when we want it to happen for them. When we try to force people to have a spiritual rebirth before their time we are more likely to induce abortion. It generally does more harm than good to try and force people into something they really don’t want.
The 9 Great Laws below will have virtually no value to those who aren’t ready for God to change their nature. But for those who are ready, they can be extremely helpful.
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