Changing the World

"Well, she still tends to go out to the clubs with her friends a little too much, but I'll have that stopped after we are married."

"Well, he doesn't have very good sense about spending, but I'll change that once we tie the knot."

This is not what any couple is looking for when
they are meeting to discuss their upcoming marriage!

Sometimes when I'm visiting with a couple looking forward to their marriage, I hear privately from one or the other that there are certain tendencies that they plan on changing once they are wed. This is a red flag for sure!

Once we are convinced that we can change someone, neither one of us will likely be happy.

If these situations are not discussed and worked out to an agreeable stance for both parties, the health of the relationship will begin to deteriorate.

In dealing with relationships, I observe the rule that the only person we can really change is ourselves.  If we are unhappy with someone's behavior, we might change how we react to that behavior but we also understand that our own actions are all that we control. If the person's behavior will not change and it is truly offensive, what remains is the decision to sever ties with the individual.

Is the relationship worth putting up with certain things?  Another way of thinking about this is, what is my level of tolerance?  Each person must decide this for him or herself.

As United Methodists, we are trying to Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.  That is a rather large task!

We understand that we can't really change the world until we change ourselves.  We seek to do this by being faithful to the call of God in our lives.  United Methodists respond to this call through our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.  What does it mean to be faithful in each of these ways?

The faithful example from scripture for Christians, Jews and Muslims is Abraham and Sarah.  We'll be exploring their different stories in worship each week as they relate to one of these five responses.  This particular Sunday, we'll begin with their story in Genesis 12:1-9 and my sermon title will be "Holding Nothing Back".  If you are unable to join us in person at First United Methodist Church of Edmond, you can catch our livestream of the 11:00 am service here.

And if you don't attend anywhere regularly, you can begin that change in your life this Sunday!

In Christ,

Sam


Picture by Jennifer Pahlka from Oakland, CA, sfo [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons