The first step of change is deciding that where you are at is not where you are supposed to be. It is seldom easy to admit that what you are doing is wrong. Truthfully, it is easier to justify what you are doing, how you are living, your problems, and your flaws. Lay the blame elsewhere and just continue the path you are on. The initial cost of continuing on is no greater than yesterday, while the cost of change can be enormous. This cost is your pride, the realization that you are truly worse off than you pretend to be. I tend to look at everything through rose colored glasses, tinting all I see to better please me. That guy in the mirror, not really me, the thoughts and actions that come out, only because of other influences.
But there comes a time when the cost of staying the same catches up to you. If you are sick and refuse to see the doctor, the outcome of a easily treatable disease can be death. This is where we have to be totally honest with ourselves. Few have ever told me that what I was doing, how I was living was wrong. But I know the man in the mirror, that the reflection is what I really look like. If I do not like the reflection, then I must change me. I must admit failure, I must accept truth, I must find the answer to correct the problem, and I must continue to be honest with myself. There are things that I must change because the costs have gotten too great. There are things I must change because I love those around me. There are things I must change or else a hypocrite I will continue to be. There are things that I must change because Christ died for me.
