Can People Change?

Scripture: Jeremiah 13:23 – “Can Cushites change their skin or leopards their spots? Then also you can do good, who are accustomed to do evil.” (NRSVUE)

As a Christian, there is one popular proverb that simply rubs me the wrong way: “A leopard cannot change its spots.” However, this saying is not just popular wisdom but is found in the Bible.

It comes from the Book of Jeremiah, where the prophet says, “Can Cushites change their skin or leopards their spots? Then also you can do good, who are accustomed to do evil.” By the way, Cushites are black Africans. It is difficult if not impossible for these things to change, so it would be equally impossible for someone accustomed to doing evil to instead do good.

This is a pattern in a lot of Old Testament prophets, who despair that people cannot escape the doom God has promised by repenting. The message is often, “it’s too late” or even that God wants you to ignore calls to change so that God can make an example out of you. I suppose this preaching this way makes a certain amount of sense, especially if you are someone like Jeremiah who is famous for being ignored. But I find it at odds with my Christian faith.

While Jeremiah believed that we cannot change, Jesus did. His entire ministry was about calling people back to God, to showing them that through repentance, a new way of living is possible. This was against the prevailing attitudes that said sinners should be criticized and shunned. But Jesus ate with corrupt tax collectors, healed lepers and foreign occupiers, and blessed sex workers. He believed that people could change, that they could be made clean of their sins, and begin new lives in the Spirit.

However, Jeremiah is not completely wrong. It is difficult to change your ways, and just hearing the Good News of Jesus is rarely enough. It requires reevaluating who you are and why you do what you do. It means breaking a lot of bad habits, which can be almost like an addiction if they bring you comfort from your stress. But Jesus teaches that transformation through the Spirit is possible, no matter how difficult it is.

What do you need to change in your life? Is it something that cannot be changed or something that can? Discern the answer through prayer, and then either find serenity for the things you cannot change or the courage to change what you can. Either way, Jesus will be with you.

Prayer: God of hope, a leopard cannot change its spots, but I can change my harmful ways if you are by my side. Amen.