You’ll be able to tell them by the fruit they bear: you don’t find grapes growing on thorn-bushes, do you, or figs on thistles? Well, in the same way, good trees produce good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit. Actually, good trees can’t produce bad fruit, nor can bad ones produce good fruit!—Matthew 7:16–19
Brainy Tip: True change can be seen in the fruit of your life.
We need to take personal responsibility for our lifestyles. Of course, we all make mistakes, and we can rest assured knowing that God, in his gracious and loving way, has built backup systems into our brains and bodies that will pull us out of potential danger and heal us. After all, stressing about making mistakes is toxic to our mental and physical health! But if we knowingly continue down a path of choosing toxic, negative thinking patterns, we should not be surprised when the consequences are far from what we desire.
Yes, God forgives us, but we have to repent, which essentially means to change our mind, which in turn changes our behavior. We cannot treat the Creator of the universe as a “get out of jail free” card or a bottled genie ready for our wish. Remember: what we think, we are.