Too Bad to Change?

They’re one of the worst teams in professional sports. They play their games in a half-filled arena and are rumored to be struggling just to pay their players. Not only do they lose games, they lose money as well: $4 million just last year. Times are so tough that a group of area merchants banded together and held a telethon just to keep the team alive. Observers say the team is worth less than any other team in its league. What possible future could a basement-dwelling bunch like this have? After all, don’t you eventually just get too bad to change?

Actually no. The year was 1992, and the team was, in fact, the Indiana Pacers. One year later, the Pacers were almost sold to a group of Canadian investors (how does "Toronto Pacers" sound?) before beginning a steady turnaround which led to several divisional championships and this year's appearance in the NBA finals. Today, the Pacers are worth more than four times their value of eight years ago and are a recognized powerhouse in the NBA. Quite a turnaround.

A house can reach the point of no return, a state of disrepair so advanced that it is actually less expensive to tear it down and start over. A car can become so rust-eaten and unsafe that repairing it actually costs more than buying a new one. A lawn can become so weed-infested that the most logical solution is to spray herbicide on everything, killing both weeds and grass, and start over next spring. Most things in this life can become so run-down that repairing them is actually more expensive and more time-consuming than just throwing them away and buying a new one. Most things....

But not human beings. When you and I give up on people, God is still willing to give them another chance. When we write people off as "unchangeable," God says "No problem, I've handled worse before." When we give up on ourselves, concluding that we are too bad to ever change, God says "Wait a minute. I made you and I still see what you can become. You can’t change yourself, but I can change you if you will let me."

God is in the people-changing business. He’s never met one yet that he couldn't fix.

[ Author Unknown -- from Mark Phillips ]