“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” ~ Aldous Huxley
If you gave me a piece of paper and a pen and said I had ten minutes to list people who need to improve and what they needed to do in order to improve, probably the first thing I would do would be to ask for more paper. I think that’s pretty much the case with most anyone. We can see very easily the faults of others.
If, on the other hand, you gave us a piece of paper and a pen and said that we had ten minutes to list our own faults and what we needed to do to improve, we would probably say that we didn’t have enough time. Unfortunately, if you asked us to list how many of them we had actually worked on improving, we would have to admit “not many”.
There is just something in our human nature that is slow going when it comes to improving ourselves. Yet, when you really think about it, we can only be certain about improving our own selves. We have no force, no effect, over others. We can only be certain about ourselves. If that is the case, why do we not do something about it?
I think the easy answer — and, perhaps the easy excuse — is that we abhor change. We are frightened of change. We do not want change to come into our lives because change is foreign and unpredictable. We would rather remain in something that was uncomfortable and predictable than move on to something unpredictable that could make us better.
I know that sounds crazy; but, it’s true. Many times we would rather hurt than change.
But, we have something much better to which we are called. God challenges us to change each day of our lives, to become better, to become holier. Let change not frighten you. Let not unpredictability cause you to remain stagnant. Be courageous and take the initiative to improve yourself.
FAITH ACTION: Try to improve your spiritual life today: pray more, volunteer somewhere, help someone out.