You Need To Change Me!

"You Need To Change Me!!"  This is my morning alarm.

I wrestle my way out of the blankets, stumble to the bathroom, laugh at my sleep-induced hairstyle and go downstairs to do the dirty work.  For a moment, I take in the sight of my frowsy-haired children snuggled up on the couch.  Aren't they cute?  I love those little people.

Before my feet hit the living room carpet, I am greeted by my darling children in a chorus of:

"He stinks!"

"You need to change him!"

"Chocolate milk!"

Sigh.

 

 This morning, I recommended the following greetings as alternatives to their usual ones.

Dear, sweet children, why don't you try a different morning greeting, such as:

"I love you mama!"

"Good morning mama!"

"I'm happy to see you mama!"

"Can I make you breakfast, mama?"

 And they laughed at me.

I don't understand -  we listen to Christian kids' songs on cd, have devotional time almost every day, and take them to church to learn, in a pint-sized way, how to be more like Jesus.  I talk about my faith with them daily - my mistakes, how to ask forgiveness, prayer, having faith in God, God's will, complete with true stories from my past.
 
So why, after all this effort and the countless hours spent training them to be well-behaved, faith-filled kids, do they revert to thankless barbarian mode?

"For I was born a sinner—

yes, from the moment my mother conceived me."  (Psalm 51:5)

They keep doing it because it is natural.
Wrong lines of thought.
Poor choices.
Bad behavior.

Suddenly, it becomes clear to me:

This is not a problem with mom or dad.  This is a heart issue.

They need to greet their heavenly Father with: "You need to change me!  Please."

If I am honest with myself, I need to have the same conversation with God.

"You Need to Change Me!"  Please.

There are certain parts of my life - thoughts, actions, attitudes - that stink.  Everyone around me notices, but I am usually unaware.  What kind of boldness, what sort of strong will needs to be present in my life to have this conversation with God?  I can easily point out my children's faults and wrong decisions, but it is harder to see when I look at myself.


If I do this, I will not only be seeing more clearly to correct my actions -  I will also see more clearly to help my children correct theirs.

I need to boldly stand in front of God and ask Him to change me - and see what happens. 

God will not let a request like this gather dust, so I need to be ready for his answer!

I hope you will consider taking this challenge, too.      

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."  Matthew 7:3-5