Change Begins With You!

“May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, The foresight to know where you’re going, And the insight to know when you have gone too far” ― An Irish Blessing.”

I teach hindsight, foresight, and insight. Hindsight explaining how things went wrong while foresight prevents things from repeating.  Insight is that aha problem-solving moment, allowing for understanding at a solution based level.

Here’s a solution based example: Imagine a person who constantly misplaces their keys or phone. We’ve all been there and know that feeling. You realize the items are lost and search the house frantically.  A solution is found using the logic of hindsight, admitting a problem exists and then applying insight (that aha moment) to solve the problem by placing the phone and keys in the same location every night. By placing the keys in the same location the morning chaos and lost item confusion is minimized. 

Hindsight is a central theme heard in counseling centers worldwide. I have counseled in jails, and mental facilities and have heard many proclaim: “If I could just go back in time, my decisions would be so much better.”  The decisions would only be better with serious insight breakthroughs. The gambler, the criminal, and the drug addict will continue their negative addictive patterns unless they finally reach that insight clarity that they actually need to change.

For example, the Bible tells of the time Jesus showed up and asked a disabled man an unusual question: “Do you want to be made well?” Now what kind of question is that to ask someone who’s been waiting years by a body of water that’s occasionally stirred by an angel? It’s a very good question actually. Not everyone wants to change. You can go to an alcoholic and say, “Do you want to be free from alcohol?” Do you think everyone will say yes? No, not everyone will.

You can go to a person on drugs and say, “Do you really want to be free from drugs?” Or you can go to someone else and say, “Do you really want to be free from pornography?” Not everyone wants to change. Some people are comfortable right where they are, and they want to stay exactly where they are.

Change has to begin with us, nothing can happen for us until it happens to us. An example from our marriage: My wife Renee and I made a major decision in faith to move to southern Indiana out of concern for our sons when they were 9 and 12. We walked away from our well-paying jobs in a metro area of five million moving to a rural area of southern Indiana of 10,000 sacrificing our income, with the hope of improving all of our lives.  We knew it was a risk and were widely criticized for walking away from the money and the job security, but we were convinced it was the right decision for the family. During our time in rural Indiana both of our sons were baptized and saved; accepting Jesus as the true and living God. God was with us every step of the way meeting every need.