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William sat at his desk in a dreary office building. Walls with dull paint hemmed in his space. Dull papers stared at him from dull cluttered piles. He wore a dull shirt, dull pants, and even dull shoes. Dull thoughts filled his head and bored his spirit. The same thoughts bored those around him. He poked around at his uninspiring, dull lunch — a tuna packet, complemented by a drab juice box. His lackluster paycheck rarely allowed for anything more adventurous. William thought to himself, “My life does not fulfill me. It’s dull and boring. I will go home and change my clothes.”
William ambled into his home with a dull gait, and then into his room where he opened his closet door and removed his dull clothes. He donned a vibrant shirt, a bright jacket, crisply creased pants, a stylish belt, and shiny matching white shoes. His attire was no longer dull. It was alive. But William was not. Adorned in his new fashion, he stepped out of his room, sat on his dull couch, and turned on a dull television program. The next morning, he put on his usual dull clothes and returned to his same dull job. For a brief moment, he had changed his clothes, but not himself. In the privacy of his home, he had taken no chances. Nor did he keep what change he had made.
But what if he had taken the risk? What if William had gone to work in different clothes? What if he had changed not only his external appearance, but had allowed himself transformation of mind and heart? What if he had allowed himself to be liberated from drudgery and deadness? How would his friends have reacted? What doors might have closed? What doors might have opened?
God offers us not just a change of clothes, but a complete transformation of being (2 Corinthians 5:17). This utter change is marked by divine character (Galatians 2:20). It is full of newness, and springs, and life giving rivers in the deserts of one’s life (Isaiah 43:18-19). But too often, too many of us tell God to keep that change. Instead of accepting the change he offers, we balk at the risk. We fear losing worldly treasures and pleasures. We settle for dull lives, clothed in dull rags, and chained to dull sins, never realizing how low the risk is (Matthew 6:31-33), or how great is the gain (Matthew 6:19-20).
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