It’s a three-day weekend because we are celebrating the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. I remember on our trip in Washington D.C., his memorial was so tall that it towered over all the others. It was majestic. I thought of the life that he lived. He didn’t let people stop him on his mission, even when he was imprisoned, or his life was threatened. He did not stop because he knew that change had to occur. He fought for equal rights for all people. He wanted change. His fight was one worth fighting. It makes me think that I want to only fight for what is worth fighting and that fight must bring change.
It’s a new year with new journeys and a new perspective on life. The only way we can allow the new into our lives, is that we must change. We may have to change our ideas, or our attitudes, or our jobs, or our habits. Whatever it is, we all must engage in change so that the world around us can be a better place. We cannot force other people to change, but if we choose not to change, then we choose not to grow. Being stagnant in life brings unsatisfaction and an unhealthy life.
Change is difficult. It is more than saying a speech or tweeting or screaming on social media with a meme that defines how others around us must change because we made changes in our lives that we believe we must force others to do. I cannot demand that someone else changes. I can inspire them with my own life how healthy change can be. As Christians, we must commit ourselves to change. We must embrace change in our own lives and the life of the church continually because change brings growth. For many Christians, change is nonexistent. It’s not an insult. It’s a truth that I have struggled with my entire Christian life.
The church struggles to change. Music anyone? That fight has been going on for centuries. Some people are still screaming that we must sing songs that were created in bars. You know what that means? Those music writers were in bars…all the time. Change of leadership is a constant fight. We don’t like change because we must give up something. If we give up something, we gain something so much better, but many people believe that if we give up something, it is lost forever. Maybe we must lose some things forever. Martin Luther King Jr. knew that racism needed to end…forever.
That was the secret that Martin Luther King Jr. knew. He knew that if we would give up our prejudices, we would gain a much better country with everyone being able to use their gifts and talents to create businesses, art, educational institutions, and communities where love exists over hate. It is only with change that we can create. If we set goals for the New Year, then we must give up a bad habit to create a new habit. That new habit will make our lives better. We must make a better world, so we may have to change some of our attitudes and ideas so that others may benefit from our change. So, we must give up something.
Martin Luther King Jr. did not fight for himself. He fought for others. He fought for change. His memorial towers over others because his work made such an impact on this country, but his work is not finished. Change is constant. It will always be with us. We don’t have to lose our faith in God to change. We should gain faith as we change. As we start this new year and enter this three-day weekend, may we fight the good fight as we change every day to make the world a better place for people today and in the future. Let us all choose one area in our life that we can change to make those around us better and healthier.
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