I always hear people say, “Getting saved changes you”, but just how much does it change you. I’m not really close to anyone I was friends with in high school so it is not like they can tell me I’ve changed. Also my new friends never knew the unsaved Eli. It’s a weird concept to think about. Those from my past have shown no interested in being in my future, and who is to blame them really. They don’t know me anymore, I’m not the same Eli I was to them as I am now. When you decide to follow Jesus, you also decide to give up everything including your life.
If I could go back in time and talk to unsaved Eli there is so much I would tell him. I would tell him to try harder in school and in sports because there is an actual purpose to doing so; it is not just to make money and pick-up women. I would teach him how great of a gift it is to have baseball and not to take it for granted. I would tell him not to put his heart into girls because it is high school and nothing good comes out of high school relationships. I would tell him not to lose his big heart and take pride in being an emotional, sensitive guy because once it goes numb it may never come back. All that stress unsaved Eli had about being broke, thinking we were going to be homeless, and thinking my sports career is over, I would tell him to let it go because your world is about to be rocked in a different way. I would explain how not to stress because this life is temporary. I will definitely tell him that he wants to stay in the south, because the north is too cold. I would tell him not to get hung up on people because they will come and go for the rest of your life, but Jesus won’t. I would tell him the only thing that could fill the hole in his heart is Jesus. He also needs to know that whatever he is about to do to stop and think about how it will impact our future. All in all unsaved Eli probably would just told me to take a hike and not listen to anything I said. Let’s just say they we wouldn’t have gotten along or be running in the same circles.
In the end, my personality is still pretty much the same. I am still a blunt, straight-forward, in-your-face alpha male. When I do call others out it’s with love supported by truth. I still can smooth talk with my silver tongue and I flirt all the time. I still like to go out and have some fun, be a little spontaneous. The things that have really changed are my goals, values, morals, and my outlook on life. I no longer want to be an engineer or a lawyer. I want to do sport missions. I won’t sleep around anymore and cuss people out. I’m not angry anymore. I understand the role of women in my life, and that I shouldn’t objectify. When you decide to follow Jesus you personality shouldn’t change but your goals, morals, values, and life will because you aren’t serving yourself anymore. You are serving God and putting Him before anything.
