"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."
In a world that continues to protest "I was born that way, I can't help it" this message from a prophet of God is a clear witness that that is not true. There truly are things I was born with and that I can't change. I will never be taller, for instance. But I can become more patient. I can become kinder. I can become full of charity. I can become more refined and a better person. Anyone who says, "I was born that way, I can't help it" is merely abrogating their personal responsibility for something they don't want to deal with. I'm not saying that that means it will be easy; I've lived 25 years and I'm still not patient or forgiving. Some people have to struggle for a lifetime. But you can change, and that change will change the world. As we seek to implement all these programs and raise millions and billions of dollars to "fix" problems in "underprivileged" or "developing" nations, we should remember that.
"The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment."
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