Change

“If you do what you have always done, you get what you have always gotten.” I love this quote. It has really resonated with me in life and helped to promote change. I also love the quote, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” In fact, this was a quote I used to answer a question in my interview for Miss South Carolina. I later learned that infamous quote won me the interview portion of the pageant. I was asked about my thoughts on the changes in the Coke recipe…back then, in the 80’s, Coke decided to change its recipe….I liked the original Coke….so my answer was to not change it. I was a business major with a marketing background so they were interested in my business mind and opinion. I am so glad they liked my answer.

But today’s post is about Change; most people don’t like it. In fact, many statistics show that 99% of people are resistant to change. Twenty-six years later and looking at Coke now…I am glad their debacle in the 80’s didn’t deter them from seeking to innovate and change. As a business major, I can now see that their failure in trying to change and innovate didn’t stop them from growing and stretching and changing. They kept trying to change and grow until they got it right.

In fact, with the background I have in bushiness/marketing, I would say they got it REALLY RIGHT……instead of changing the Coke recipe everyone loved they eventually, through trial and error, came out with different flavors of Coke. Today, Coke is the most well-known beverage in the world and offers many more variations than just the original Coke–Cherry Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Coke with lime and the list goes on and on…….! I hate I didn’t buy Coke stock in the 80’s while they were recovering from their seeking to change and grow…I should have known they would eventually change, grow and get it right. Hindsight is always 20/20, isn’t it?

Change, even though it isn’t popular, is absolutely necessary to grow. I do believe you have to leave the shore and lose sight of “land” sometimes for a very long time to grow and change. It can be uncomfortable, awkward, and scary….but in order to grow….you have to walk this path…to change. In the Back 9 I can safely say that change is a good thing…..we all have room for improvement. God’s design for our life is to mature and complete us! James 1:4, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking in anything.”

Yes, to change we must persevere. I think of Abraham in Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Abraham was called by God to move…to change…I don’t know about you, but that would be a big change for me. But Abraham’s faith in God and willingness to change….not only benefited him…..but his family and future generations. Hebrews 11:9, “By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

This is key….to change in life, to grow and to gain new ground and access to all the good God has for us……we have to look to Him as the architect and builder…..placing our faith in Him….obeying and surrendering to Him to give us direction….”looking forward” to the new foundations on which change is built. I love what Mark Batterson says, “You are only one defining decision away from a totally different life.” To change you have to decide…..then you have to act…..then comes the perseverance…then patience (James chapter 1). True change starts with the individual….we have no power to change others, but we are key and instrumental in changing ourselves.

If you want to be more, you must BECOME more. Waiting on someone else to change takes all the power away from you….the true power is found in going to the “Architect” and looking in the mirror at ourselves and deciding to decide to grow. When you decide to change and grow, one of the first things you may have to do is step away from people who are not on the same journey you are choosing. You may have to choose between your friends and your future. You have heard it said, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Because of the strong statistics showing how many people are resistant to change you need to realize that if you decide to change, you need to find those people who get it. People who want more and want to be more; thus you are looking for people who will stretch your vision, not choke your dreams or the plans God created you to fulfill…..which will always bring challenges, change and growth. Every minute you spend with the wrong people takes away from the time you have to spend with the right ones.

I only have to look at the book of Hebrews in the Bible and read about the heroes of the faith like Noah, Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Joseph, Moses and Rehab. These heroes remind me that in order to live life differently than average people…you not only have to be willing to CHANGE in order to grow, but you have to have faith. Faith increases by not being complacent but being bold and willing….If you want something you have never had, then you have to do something you have never done. It is also true that if you want to become someone you have never been, you must do things you have never done, CHANGE.

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