Baptist City Blog

God eventually got fed up with Israel and their constant complaining and straying from how He wanted them to live. They came to a point in their history where they wouldn't listen to His Word through the mouths of His prophets, so God chose to let them do what they wanted to do. The problem with this is that they lost what they didn't like. What they didn't like about God’s ways is what made them who they were and gave them the strength as a nation. They lost what they didn't like, but they didn't like what they got. Israel should have been content with what they had because what they didn't like is what made them happy.

A great lesson can be learned from the verse above. Marriages, children, employees, Christians, church members and citizens often complain about what they don't like, but if they lost what they didn't like they wouldn’t like what they got. For instance, a person may not like something about their spouse, but if their spouse changed, they wouldn’t like what they became. Let me give you three thoughts to think about.

First, what you don't like is what makes you like. You may not realize it, but the thing you don't like about a person is what makes the person who they are. What you don't like about your spouse is part of the ingredient that makes them who they are. What you may not like about your church is part of the key ingredients that makes it what it is. In every recipe, there are ingredients you won’t like, but you will change the product if you took out the disliked ingredient.

Second, if you changed what you don't like, you wouldn't like what you got. If you were successful in changing that area of your spouse that you don't like, you wouldn't like the spouse you got in return. Many people have been successful in changing the part of their spouse they didn't like, but they didn't like what they became because it changed who they were. Changing the makeup of a person will change who they are, and who they are is what you like.

Third, don’t change what you don’t like because you may lose what you don’t like. You better be careful about constantly nagging your spouse about changing who they are because you may lose what you don't like. You may try to change them so much that they just get tired of putting up with the nagging, and you may lose them to another person. What you don't like about your pastor is exactly what you like about him. If you change what you don't like about him, you will lose what you like. You better stop trying to make everything and everyone into what you think they should be. You are not God, and you can't see how what you don't like is part of the ingredients of what you like.

Let this be a reminder to be content with what you have. Stop trying to change what you don't like about your spouse because you probably won’t like what you get if you're successful. Instead of trying to change others, work on yourself and change what you need to change about you. You have enough to change about yourself that you can stay plenty busy for the rest of your life.