Getting to the Root, Not the Symptom

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”   Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

In my yard I'm always battling weeds. When I want to get rid of weeds, I don’t just go out and cut them off with pruning shears or a weed wacker. I need to pull them out by the root. If I just cut off the weed itself—the symptom—it’s going to grow right back.  

It’s the same with the world’s problems. People have tried many approaches to solving them. But too often, only the symptoms get addressed and not the underlying cause—because if the root is still there, the problems will keep growing back.

No man-made approach addresses the root cause—the heart—of the problems in our world. Even when it’s a good or noble approach, they’re never enough. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV).

I could try an educational approach, but it doesn’t get to the heart of the problem. I can be educated, but it doesn’t change my character.

The economic approach doesn’t get to the heart. Money doesn’t solve all my problems. If it did, the wealthiest people in the world would be problem-free, and that’s just not true.

The psychological approach doesn’t get to the heart. Yes, it’s helpful and can make people feel better, but I was created for more than a life free from stress and anxiety. I was created for a purpose.

The sociological approach doesn’t get to the heart. Throughout history, well-meaning people have worked to change the social structures of society. But we can see how little people have really changed, even in the 21st century.

The biological approach thinks every problem can be solved by a pill or a procedure, and the technological approach says innovation is our salvation. Each one has an important role in advancing society. But none of them get to the root cause of all the problems on the planet.

If there’s going to be any real, long-term change, it has to start in the heart. That’s how God works—through transforming lives from the inside out.

God specializes in changing prejudiced people into loving people and hateful people into kind people and self-centered people into unselfish people. No law will ever teach people how to love. Only God can do that. Transformation starts in the heart through the power of the Holy Spirit. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV).

The heart of the problem is a problem of the heart. I'm not going to see any lasting change in society until there is lasting change in my heart and the hearts of others.

How’s my heart doing? Before I can help anyone else with their problems, I've got to let God work on me first. When my heart is in the right place with him, that’s when I'm able to point others to the only real solution that gets to the root of all problems—to Jesus, the One who can actually change hearts.

In summary:

The root of every lasting change begins in the heart. Just like weeds in a yard must be pulled out by the root to truly be gone, the world’s problems can’t be solved by surface-level fixes like education, money, psychology, or even social reform—because none of these address the deeper issue. The Bible teaches that the heart is deceitful and desperately in need of transformation, and only God can truly change it. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God works from the inside out—turning prejudice into love, hate into kindness, and selfishness into generosity. Proverbs 4:23 reminds me to guard my heart, because everything flows from it. Real and lasting change in the world starts with God changing my heart first, and then through me, pointing others to Jesus, the only one who can truly transform lives.

Bottom Line:

Real and lasting change begins with the heart, and only God—through Jesus—can transform it.

Next wisest step:

I need to tend to my own heart first by deepening my daily time with God in Scripture and prayer, so that I'm leading from a place of transformation rather than just information. I can then begin weaving this message—“lasting change starts in the heart”—into interaction with others as a core principle that aligns with both my faith and leadership mission.

To Change, I Must Face the Truth

“You have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him.” Ephesians 4:21 (NLT) The secret to personal change is not willpower. The secret is to know and face the truth. So, if I want to change, I must know and face the truth about myself. I need to face the truth about my weaknesses, relationships, successes, failures, past, and my future. And that truth is found in Jesus Christ. Nothing in my life can change until I know and face the truth. Why? It’s because behind every self-defeating habit in my life is a lie that I believe.  If in debt, it might be because we believe a lie like, “I can spend and get away with it” or “I can always pay it back.” We might have overestimated how much we were going to make, or or believed the lie that we needed a much bigger house. But did you need that bigger house? Are you sure it’s the truth? Can you prove it’s the truth? Are you absolutely certain that what you’ve believed about your finances is true? What about  relationships? What about the things we say to ourselves about ourselves? Is the way we think about your past true?  Or is the truth what God says about these things? The Bible teaches that personal change starts with truth. The truth sets us free. The apostle Paul said, “You have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him” (Ephesians 4:21 NLT).  Who is the truth? It’s Jesus. And because Jesus is the truth, he will always tell us the truth. One of the ways he’ll most often tell us the truth is through his Word. Because the Bible is his Word, the Bible is truth. (read more about that in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.) What we hear on television or read in books won’t always help us—because it’s not always the truth. In fact, if we consistently listen to what voices around us are saying, you’ll find your life built on a foundation of lies, misconceptions, deceptions, and half-truths. And we will never change. But what God tells me is always the truth. God’s Word shows me how to get back to the life I was created to live, and then it shows me how to stay on God’s path. This is why it is so important for us to have a daily quiet time in the Word of God. Nothing will change until we get the truth into our heart. Choose today to face and respond to the truth. Then we'll begin to see positive change in our lives. In summary: Personal change starts with facing and embracing the truth, especially the truth found in Jesus Christ. Change isn’t driven by willpower but by acknowledging the lies that influence our self-defeating habits, such as financial or relational mistakes. The truth is found in Jesus and His Word, which guide us toward real transformation. By consistently engaging with God's truth through the Bible, we can overcome misconceptions and lies that hinder growth, leading to a life aligned with God’s path.