"But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Matthew 9:13 This Scripture reveals to us how Jesus viewed the ritualistic and spiritual of His day.  Simply put, this refers to the idea of mercy as involvement in a spiritual relationship with others, as compared to a ritual "holier-than-thou" approach to following God.  We must realize the difference between truly following God (mercy) and a facade in following (sacrifice).  Repentance comes from our seeking a relationship with God that is evidenced by our actions and not using it as a means to gain prestige.  The latter will always be seen as unacceptable because it is self-promoting and egotistical in action.   

            Let us look at our society today how it reveals the difference between the secular and the spiritual.  The word we are confounded with today is narcissism (admiration of oneself, lack of empathy for others) by its nature.  This reveals several things that bring sin to the forefront of society.  It revolves around self-love, selfishness, and only caring about self.  This usually ends badly for that person because their relationship with others and God is strained.  People who act in such a manner are conceited, egocentric, self-centered, self-important, and have no conscience about how they treat others.  If too many in a society follow this path, that society will falter and eventually fail, because selfishness leads to corruption in its truest form.

            Many call themselves Christian but their actions declare them not.  They have no evidence of changed behavior, no remorse, they make excuses for bad actions, constantly repeat mistakes, look for others to reinforce their bad behaviors, and blame others for their misdeeds.  All in all, they are always the "victim" of their own doing, while blaming others for their bad choices.  There are two descriptions of these people, as found in 2 Timothy 3:1-7 and Romans 1:24-25.  In these instances, they describe the very culture that is brewing today in our society.  It is all about them and what they may receive from others.  Socialism by nature is a description of such people.  They see themselves in terms of a "victimized" people.  The nature of humanity is sinful because we think this way.  It is called a "sin nature" because we cannot get away from these things described in the Bible as detrimental to us.        

In John 3:30 we find John the Baptist making a statement we all should accept as Christians.  "He must increase, but I must decrease."  The realization of our need to allow the mind and attitude of Jesus to permeate our lives, is seen in John the Baptist's declaration.  We must allow God to change our thinking, our direction (repent), and our destiny.  Jesus also says in Matthew 20:28: "...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  Service should be at the center of this relationship, because when we serve, we are fulfilling our "purpose" God intended.  In order for us to truly understand the need for repentance, we must understand the concept.  It is easy to see all the bad things happening around us.  To point a finger at others is far easier than realizing the enemy is within.  We must take God's plan for humanity and apply it to our individual lives.

            Just feeling sorry for our behaviors is not good enough, we must repent (turn around) from our present behaviors.  This takes two things: 1) the influence of the Holy Spirit 2) self-discipline.  The most important as Christians, is our allowing the Holy Spirit to have influence upon our daily living.  Not a weekly Christian, but a full-time believer that God makes a difference. "9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9-10

            There are several things we should consider when confronted with this change (repentance).  We must be sincere in our intentions and remorseful in our failures.  Remember, all this is by the "leadership of the Holy Spirit".  We must recognize our sin!  There must be a lot of self-examination for this to occur.  We must confess our sin before God and not allow it to fester as a cancer in our heart.  We must forsake the sin that is reoccurring in our daily lives.  These are the ones that destroy our abilities to have a "right relationship" with God.  We must learn to forgive others and not carry anger in our heart for what they are doing to us.  Lastly, we must make a sincere effort to make restitution (make up for) our past bad behavior.  None of this is easy and may be extremely difficult, but that is why we rely upon the Holy Spirit to guide, convict, correct, and encourage.

            Keep in mind, how Jesus died to do just that for us, He paid the ultimate price for our sin.  "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21 Our understanding of being "born again" is vastly important in our relationship with God because we now have payment for our sin; even though we do not deserve it.  Our being penitent opens the flood gate for God's blessings as found in salvation.  We now become a child of God and linked with our Creator for all eternity.  Oh, we are a sinful society, and we must recognize it as such.  Yet, God established a means whereby we may now have this "right-relationship".  It is impossible to accomplish, outside the influence of the Holy Spirit.  Our total dependance upon God is the pivot point of our faith as believers.