Earlier this week some of us met up to review the ‘How People Change’ course that we went through at the start of the year, and we were reminded of one of the key insights from the course: my situation is significant, but not determinative. In other words, the situations we find ourselves in will affect how we react and the way we behave, but they do not determine that reaction or behaviour. For example, if someone hurts me by what they say, that will probably affect how I feel about them, but it does not mean I have to hurt them back, or shun them, or gossip about them. I can choose to ignore it, to forgive them, even to love them in return.
Both parts of the statement are important. My situation is significant. God knows, understands and cares about everything that we are facing at any one time. Whether it is a time of joy or suffering, abundance or pain, blessing or despair, it matters to him. He is not indifferent, and he knows that different situations will affect us in different ways.
But the second part of the statement is equally, and possibly even more, important. My situation is not determinative of my behaviour. I don’t have to react in a particular way. I can choose to respond differently. We only have to recall the way the Lord Jesus responded to unbelief, hatred, violence, injustice and the like to see that. The difference, of course, is that he was without sin and full of the Holy Spirit. But with the help of that same Spirit, who lives in all who belong to Jesus Christ, we too can change.