Mary Kay and I have some dear friends who have spent the last 25 years investing in people. I know of few people who have given more time, energy and financial resources to helping people (most often Christians) overcome obstacles, traumas and misfortune in their lives.
We met several weeks ago, and they discouragingly asked me the question, “Why haven’t we been able to see people truly change their lives over all these years?” They continued, “so often we pour our best resources into people, and they end up reverting back to the poor decisions and habits that got them into the situation in the first place.”
This is a great question, and one I asked myself many times during my first decade as a pastor.
From my experience, many people don’t want to change. I understand that sounds pessimistic, but I have learned it over and over. Most people want to change by simply reading a book, listening to a podcast or sermon, or just by taking a pill. Most people today really don’t want to do the hard work of life transformation. Because this couple had the cognitive and financial resources, they could help people with a lot of resources, but ultimately, the people they were trying to serve really weren’t transformed. They go back to previous patterns and lifestyles.
We can meet someone’s perceived need, but if we don’t address how people are transformed, it seldom produces long-term change. Some people don’t need resources like money or information; they need to do the hard work of transformation.
Don’t hear me saying we don’t meet the immediate needs of those who are hurting. The command to do so is throughout our Scriptures. We must help the hurting and the helpless. However, we must do so wisely and seek to bring about long-term transformation rather than only short-term satisfaction. It isn’t either/or but both/and.
I love how Peter handled a situation like this when a lame man asked him for money. “Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. (Acts 3:6-8)
Peter didn’t meet the guy’s immediate desire for money, but he met his deeper need for healing. Peter could have taken up an offering for the guy. But he didn’t. He understood his immediate predicament was the byproduct of a deeper need. So, rather than just meeting his immediate need for money, he healed the man so he could provide long-term care for himself and others.
Jesus didn’t just give people what they wanted either. He gave them what they needed. Like the man in Mark 2.1-12 who was paralyzed and his friends lowered him through a hole in the roof in front of Jesus. Jesus said to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven”. That caused a real stir with the Pharisees, so then, Jesus physically healed him. Jesus knew the man’s real need was first for spiritual healing, but then he provided for his immediate need as well.
This isn’t an isolated event in Jesus’ life. Over and over, Jesus identifies a person’s real need behind their immediate request. Jesus was always aware of whether the individual was willing to change. In Matthew 19.16ff, a young rich guy comes to Jesus and asks what he needs to do to get eternal life. After some dialogue with this guy, Jesus tells this wealthy, young, and upwardly influential person to go sell his possessions and give to the poor. I find it interesting that we have no other recorded account of Jesus giving this answer to anyone else when he was asked the same question. But here, it appears that Jesus knew this guy wasn’t willing to truly change by the way he handled his possessions.
Jesus assesses a person’s willingness to change in man ways. In John 5.1-15, Jesus finds a man who has been an invalid for 38 years. The man blames others for his lack of healing. Jesus doesn’t deal with that. He looks him right in the eye and asks him, “Do you want to get well?” The guy responds to Jesus that it was others’ responsibility to carry him to the well. Jesus puts it right back on him and tells him not to wait for others but to get up, take your mat, and walk out of there.
Several times, when he healed lepers, he would tell them to go and show themselves to the priests. Some were healed as they went (Luke 17.11ff), while others before they went (Mark 1.40ff), but there was often an appropriate demonstration of their willingness to change beyond their simply asking for it.
At other times, people demonstrated their willingness to change before coming to Jesus. Examples of this would be the woman in Luke 8.41ff who bled for 12 years and struggled to touch the clothes of Jesus or Zacchaeus, a tax collector in Luke 19.1ff climbing the tree, humiliating himself, and having Jesus into his home, or Mary pouring ointment worth a year’s worth of wages on Jesus’ feet. All of these demonstrated their willingness to do whatever to be transformed. It isn’t just about meeting an immediate need for Jesus; he desires a transformed life.
I suggested to our dear friends mentioned earlier that they, like Jesus, develop a sense of a person’s willingness to change before they give a lot of resources to them. 1 Timothy 3.10 tells us it is okay to test other’s motives in the church. It isn’t always easy attempting to assess whether a person truly desires to change. Surely, I am not right all the time, so I try to err on the side of grace. Transforming the lives of others is ultimately God’s job. I only desire to be his effective conduit to do so.
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