Knowing and Doing

There is a difference between knowing and doing. So often in my life that difference has defined me.

I know I should turn off the TV and play with my kids

I know I should not talk about someone behind his or her back

I know I should forgive my wife when she’s apologized for hurting me

I know I should read my Bible and spend time in prayer

I know I should believe the best about a co-worker

I know I should do whatever I have to do to keep my mind pure and holy

I know I should eat healthy and exercise

I heard Erwin McMannus say one time, “Many of us are educated far beyond our willingness to obey.”

I know all of the things I SHOULD do.  My unwillingness to do what I know prevents me from experiencing the change in my life that I desire.

The difference between what we know and what we do in our life is what defines us.

I have conversations with people all the time that struggle with this:

They know they shouldn’t be angry, but they refuse to forgive

They don’t want to struggle with lust anymore but are totally cool watching movies with nudity and sex scenes

They have a huge desire to have an intimate marriage, but won’t adjust their schedule to spend more time with their spouse

They have a longing for a loyal and honest friend, but continue to tell lies and fake their way through relationships

They want a stellar relationship with their kids, but refuse to not work 80 hours a week

Can I share with you something that I have learned the hard way?  The more things stay the same, the more they never change.

If you and I truly want different results than the life we are living right now, if we really want to change, we have to do different things.

Often, the truth is that we go to church week after week, month after month, and year after year and we sing the songs and we pray the prayers and we read the scriptures…but nothing changes. We aren’t different. We wonder why we aren’t changing?

A change of character is always preceded by a change of behavior. For me, I struggled for years with lust and pornography. I wanted to change. I prayed to change. I had a desire to change…just not to the point that it cost me anything.

For my character to change, my choices had to change first. I choose not to watch any show with sexual content. I choose to drastically filter my movie choices. When I chose to change my choices, my character began to change.

Maybe today you need to forgive

Maybe today you need to tell the truth

Maybe today you need to eliminate HBO and Showtime from your cable package

Maybe today you need to apologize

Maybe in order for things to change, you have to stop doing things the same.

Anyone else battle what you know you should do and what you choose to do?