A pastor was preparing his sermon on Saturday night. His son kept interrupting him, so he tore a world map and told him to fix it. He thought it would take hours. But in minutes, the boy returned with it complete. “How did you do it so fast?” “I saw a man on the back,” the boy said. “If I fix the man, the world is fixed.” That response changed the pastor’s sermon to: “Stop trying to change the world.”
Friend, if you must be obsessed with anything, let it be God and growth (Philippians 3:10-14). That’s where relevance and influence begin. For young people, especially, the best investment is becoming a better version of yourself (Romans 12:2). People are drawn to a transformed life.
When your life and calling are in order, you won’t beg people to be mentored (Matthew 5:13-16). The people you are chasing today will be inviting you tomorrow. So take the energy you use in trying to change the world and use it to change yourself first (1 Timothy 4:15-16). Public impact always starts with private growth and discipline.
God does not multiply error. He multiplies what is right (Matthew 17:5). If He can make you into someone He can trust to duplicate, there’s no limit to where He will take you. Sometimes, we are the biggest delay to the impact we want (Luke 12:49-50). Live in a way that makes God spread what you do and not stop it (Isaiah 51:1-2).
The disciples never set out to “change the world.” They just followed Jesus until they were transformed. The result was that people said they had turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). A wise man once said: “As a child, I was right. As a youth, my father was right. As a man, I realized I was wrong.” Maturity teaches us to look inward before we correct others.
God is looking for examples, not just talkers (1 Timothy 4:12). Paul told Timothy to be a model to believers. That’s our call, too: to be living proof of the change we desire (Philippians 2:15). So stop trying to change the world. Fix the man. Be the example. The world will take notice.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria