Baptist City Blog

Changing the Man

1 Samuel 10:9

"And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day."

Was Saul such a bad person that God needed to change him into another person? According to the Scripture, Saul was better than anyone other man in Israel. Yet, as good of a man that he was he still needed to be changed. According to the verse above, Saul was changed when "...God gave him another heart:..."

The key to changing a man is changing his heart. You can try all the programs in the world, but the only successful program to changing a man is to change their heart. You can try to change the outside appearance of a person, but if you don't change the heart, then they will continue to do the same thing.

For instance, often you will hear about a sports figure who gets a huge contract straight out of college. That money allows that sports figure to change the clothing they wear, the car they drive, and even allows them to change the neighborhood where they live, but that money doesn't change the heart. That is why you often hear of sports figures who constantly get into trouble. Their heart was not changed. The money simply allows them to do what they did before in a greater way. Money is not the answer to changing a person, rather allowing God to change their heart is the answer.

You can send people to programs to get them clean from alcohol and drugs, but if their heart is not changed then they will go right back to the same trash that they were involved in before they attended the program. We often hear of movie stars who are in and out of addiction programs because they want to stop their addiction. The problem with many of these addiction programs is that they try to change the person without changing the heart. The only way you are going to change these people is to change their heart, and God is the only One Who can do that.

Christian, the key to changing yourself for the better is to get God to change your heart. You can read every self-help book you can get your hands on, but only God can change your heart to make you a better person. All the success books in the world can't change who you are. Only God can change who you are, and He does that through changing your heart. You can change your appearance thinking that it will change who you are, but the answer for any change in your life is that you need to change your heart. Only God can do that!

Likewise, the only way you can change other people is to change their heart. The only way a parent can change their child is to change their heart. The only way a teacher can change their pupil is to change their heart. The only way the prison guard can change the prisoner is to change their heart. The only way the pastor can change the church member is to change their heart. However, only God can change the heart. If these people want to have an influence on changing others, then they need to get them to God.

The answer to changing a man is to get them to God so He can change their heart. When a man's heart is changed, then the man will be changed. This is why you must daily spend time in the Scriptures and prayer, because it is through these avenues that you can spend time with God so He can change your heart. Do you need to change yourself? Do you need to see a change in someone else? The answer is God! Ask God to do the changing, and you will be surprised what will come of yourself and others whom He changes.