People Only Change When They Have To

People only change when they have to change. It is very rare for someone to change because they want to be a better person when their life is going the way they want it to go.

It is hardship and loss that cause most people to rethink their lives and desire something better, and only if they can self-reflect. Narcissists (2 Timothy 3:1-5) never self-reflect; instead, they blame others for the failures in their own lives.

It is common for people to only evaluate themselves if they have had conviction of the Holy Spirit and desire to grow in holiness.

Many people in our day seek to find fault in others to justify their own lack of character. Those who are the most critical of others are projecting, meaning they are looking for flaws in others to avoid facing their own.

It is a weak spirit that cannot tolerate seeing flaws in itself, even if the realization of flaws would cause maturing and transformation for the better.

Pride is a monstrous thing; it caused the devil to think he could be more powerful than God. He knew that God made him and could easily destroy him, but he followed his obsession for power, it blinded him, choosing to deny what he knew, and that was that God would never be overthrown.

Narcissists not only lie to others they also lie to themselves first. The only way one can maintain a superior attitude without conscience is if they convince themselves that their flaws and insecurities are not really theirs but belong to others.

If we are to grow in holiness or become born again, we must admit what we are and deny that we are special or good. It is normal and natural for mankind, who is basically wicked, to pretend we are good. We must deny that we are good and admit we need a Savior to be changed by Christ into a new creation. We must give up our false sense of superiority to follow Christ.

Luke 9:23 "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

Luke 10:27 "And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 6:24a "24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other."

We cannot love ourselves and God too! If we love ourselves, we will place ourselves above God.

John 13:34 "I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another."

We are all born loving ourselves; to teach one to love themselves is to tell them to indulge in selfishness. The Bible teaches us we are to love others as much as we love ourselves. In doing that, we will be loving God the way He deserves to be loved, that is, "with all our hearts."

The false church teaches us that the Bible says to love ourselves; this is not true. The Bible teaches that we are already too selfish, that our love should be diverted from ourselves to God first and then to others, and the right kind of love, God's kind of love.

What is love: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

We become less important to ourselves when we make God and others more important.