Devotionals

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OK, who said that? Why, Popeye the Sailor Man, of course! The entire quote is: “I yam what I yam an' tha's all I yam.” It become part of his famous theme song. And, eating spinach became a part of our lives—albeit briefly—when we were kids.

Popeye, in his brutish sort of way, was trying to make the point that he was who he was, and he made no apologies. It could also be interpreted as his way of saying, “Don’t try to change me!”

Have you ever had someone insult or hurt you, and just say, “Sorry, that’s just the way I am!”? Somehow, the word “sorry” doesn’t seem to fit with that attitude. Years ago, we said, “If you don’t like it, lump it.” I’m not exactly sure what that meant literally, but the gist was certainly not, “Oh, I’m sorry I hurt you. How can I make it better?”

We are told by professionals that we have certain personalities and characteristics we are born with, and that our actions, attitudes, and addictions are the result of chemical activity in the brain. Therefore, we cannot be held responsible for our actions because “that’s just the way we are.” Don’t try to change me or, if you don’t like how I am, maybe I can find a medication that will make me a more tolerable person. I yam what I yam.

Popeye’s quote, whether he knew it or not, echoes another Person who said something quite similar in the Bible. This Someone does not need spinach to make Him strong—He is the source of strength. In Exodus 3:14, when asked for His Name, “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’” What if we don’t like Him? Can we change Him? “For I am the LORD, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6, NKJV). He is Who He is, and He makes no apologies.

Where does that leave us? When we have affronted a holy God, and are confronted with our guilt, can we say, “Well, that’s the way you made me” or try to medicate the guilt away? Or should we expect God to change to satisfy our standards? When the ship and the lighthouse are on a collision course, who do you think will change course?

God makes His will very clear in the Bible: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). The rest of the Bible contains further exhortation and examples to guide us “in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3, NKJV). So, if we clash with Him, who do you think needs to change?

There is nothing wrong with changing. And the believer has both the motivation and muscle to change, and it doesn’t require spinach—just a steady diet of the Word of God.

The believer in Christ becomes a changed person: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In fact, religion, ethnicity, color, shape and size have no bearing on acceptance by God: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:15, NKJV). God Himself changes a person when he or she comes to Christ.

When a person truly becomes a Christian, people will notice the difference: “In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you” (1 Peter 4:4, NASB). In fact, most people who used to know you won’t want to associate with you any more.

Not only does God change our lives, He changes our home: “But our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). However, we need to change our bodies as well as our souls: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 15:50). Therefore, there has to be another change. When Jesus comes for the church, “the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (I Corinthians 15:52). Our new bodies will suit us for an eternity with the holy, unchanging God. Even the Old Testament saints had a grasp on this concept. Job, in the midst of suffering and loss that we can scarcely imagine, had this hope: “If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes” (Job 14:14, NKJV).

God does not change. He doesn’t have to, because He is perfect. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17, NKJV). If God had need of change, He could not be perfect, and would not be a reliable standard. We, on the other hand, are confirmed sinners in need of change. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil” (Jeremiah 13:23). God alone can say, “I AM WHAT I AM” and leave it at that.

We, sadly, are what we are, and there is nothing we can do about it. However, that is not an excuse to live in sin. Doctor’s notes, drugs, and other diversions won’t assuage the guilt we all feel. Only the change God gives when we repent can remove the guilt and allow us to say, “I yam what I’m . . . supposed to be.”

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