Introduction
Let's review the five R's in the transformation process; Regeneration, Revelation, Repentance, Restitution, Renewal. We have already looked in detail at the first three. Now we now come to the third; Restitution.

Paul outlines the three central R's that we have called the cycle of renewal in Acts 26:18:

"I was sent to open their eyes (REVELATION) so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God (REPENTANCE), in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance amongst those saints who have been sanctified by Me."

In 26:20, Paul concludes with:

"I told them they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance." (RESTITUTION)

Evangelism for Paul was not merely presenting Jesus, or asking his listener to say a prayer. It was nothing less than pointing out that redemption has as its plan the total reclamation of individuals and their inclusion into a New Kingdom. "Deeds appropriate to repentance" were part and parcel of the message, not an add on for a few spiritual giants. These deeds we will call Restitution.

The word "Restitution" appears several times in Exodus 22. It has the idea of restoring what was taken with peace and reconciliation as a result. This is the reactive use of the word: looking back to damage done and undoing it as much as possible.

But we are also using the word in this chapter in a proactive sense. That is, taking steps in changing behavior in such a way that such acts violating the law of love will not occur in the future. When we use the word in this sense, it is more related to "training in righteousness" as mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:16.

Oftentimes, steps of Restitution proactively will lead to more Revelation, as we move to deeper levels of Illumination. As we go through the cycle we may start repenting of behaviors, but end up repenting at the motivational and attitudinal level. This is appropriate since Jesus tells us that our "righteousness much exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees" (Mt.5:20). Whereas the Pharisee’s "righteousness" was only a matter of outward deeds, the righteousness of God's children should spring from a heart of love (Cf. John 14:15). Thus the cycle may need to repeat itself many times, until we the deepest levels and motives of our being are revealed, where true healing can take place.

When healing has been thorough the result is Renewal. Where renewal has taken place, a person reflexively acts in righteous ways even, or perhaps especially, when suffering unjustly (I Peter 2:18-23). Renewal is recognized when a transformation is so thorough that initial action causes a different reaction. We can think of it in terms of stimulus-response; a particular stimulus causes a certain response. When an old stimulus brings a different response, true transformation has occurred. The man who said "Ouch" when a weight dropped on his foot, where formerly he would have sworn a blue streak, has been renewed. Those who act Godly are not necessarily renewed (mere behavior); those who react Godly are.

Barriers In The Cycle

In this chapter we are going to look at Restitution and how it brings about Renewal. But Restitution can also bring us face-to-face with new understandings of the depth of our brokenness. As we go through completing the cycle, we will often encounter barriers to further growth. We need to face these barriers as they come to light (more Revelation) and engage in new levels of Repentance. Each time we face a barrier we need to see it as a road mark to still more revelation.

But where do these barriers come from?

Ultimately, Salvation is a matter of turning from this world to God, a change of loyalties. Before we are saved, who is the authority of our lives? We are. Before we're saved, the "I" is in the control; it is central. We can call this Pride. Pride is what blocks us from doing God's will. Pride is the root from which the particulars of our flesh find its expression. Pride can manifest itself in a number of different ways; Eve took the fruit because the serpent deceived her into thinking that she would become like God, whereas Adam apparently took it out of outright rebellion. Salvation challenges us to change loyalties, to turn from being Self-centered to being God-centered. This, of course, addresses motives.

Pride manifests itself in many ways, but one subtle way is Self-Centeredness. So many Christians are self-centered and don't even know it. For instance, they can only see the world through their own eyes. Let's take a husband and wife relationship. The wife comes to him and says that the children need this or that. The husband says, "I don't see that"; as though since he doesn't see it doesn't exist!

Self-centeredness is exactly that way; if it's out of our vision, it doesn't exist. I have worked with many missionaries who have this as a major barrier to their being effective. Their point-of-view is the only one, and because they can't understand anything else, they disregard it. Yet one of the essential abilities in crossing cultures is seeing the world from other’s perspective. Often what appears to us to be true is not so. Perception is not the same as reality.

If we are going to grow in Christ it will be necessary to see that our point-of-view isn't the only one, and just because we can't see another's viewpoint doesn't make it invalid. God often puts others in our life to give us a glimpse of his incredibly complex creation. After all, God’s point of view is really the only reality that matters. Often he places others in our lives who have a perception of reality that is more closely aligned to His. Self-centeredness prevents us from seeing others point of view and therefore often, God’s perspective on things.

Pride also manifests itself in another way: Self-consciousness. This is usually seen as a problem of low self-esteem: "poor me; I'm so worthless. I'm not any good." Who's the center of that universe? "I"! They are saying negative things about themselves, but they're still the center of their world! It is instructive to listen to how many times they use the word "I." Sometimes what seems to be low self-esteem is just inverted pride.

The above represent the two extreme ways Pride usually manifests itself. We could call these two ways Peacock Pride and Turtle Pride. Peacocks strut around all puffed up with themselves. It is easy to see that they are the center of their world. But self-effacing, hiding turtles are just as much allowing pride to control them. Peacocks are easy to work with; they're obvious, and usually don't camouflage sin. Turtles are much harder. Very few people consider that a Turtle is being self-centered and proud. Most Turtles are motivated by fear. The Bible says, "Perfect love casts out fear." Love is not concerned with the self; it is concerned about other people. Fear is concerned with me; self-preservation.

So how do we deal with these Peacocks and Turtles? If we think about the cycle of renewal, where is a Peacock going to manifest itself? The Peacock usually raised the barrier between Revelation and Repentance. In extreme cases it may be between Regeneration and Revelation.

How do peacocks react to light? Often they refuse to see the problem, so it doesn't exist, since they are the measure of truth (Cf. 2 Cor. 10:12f). When the light comes they explain it away. Or they may use mirrors and complain that the person bringing the light is not doing so in a helpful enough way. They will not admit when they are wrong. They may have all kinds of excuses as to why their reactions were justified. As a matter of fact, the extreme Peacocks will do everything but repent. They've learned how to dance masterfully around having to acknowledge that they were wrong.

If you are working to try to get a Peacock to repent, and he refuses to, you need to focus on the attitude of Repentance, the attitude of arrogance. Many times you need to focus on attitudes instead of issues with peacocks. The issues are mostly helpful in illuminating prideful attitudes. But the issues will not bring deep healing. It will be a momentary success followed by more failure as the peacock returns to form.

The Turtle is a different story. When the light shines on a Turtle, he is often remorseful and will outwardly repent, but often not in his or her heart. How can you tell when a person is repentant in his heart? If a person is repentant he will bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance. That is, he will follow through on restitution. This is where turtles are often exposed.

So we see the Turtle barriers are quite different from the Peacock’s; the turtle blocks the cycle between Repentance and Restitution. The turtle may repent quickly, but often it is superficial. He is constantly saying, "I'm sorry." But when it comes to actually doing anything about it, he resists: "I could never do that. You could; I couldn't. (using mirrors)" He takes a more passive stance, often appearing as a victim.

Whenever we encounter barriers, we need to pause and focus on them looking for further, and deeper Revelation. The turtle usually will not make restitution, even though she may bring forth great words of promise to do so. Usually turtles will need help and close accountability in order to make real progress. Those helping turtles must be sure that follow up on restitution occurs.

Distinguishing Turtles and Peacocks
Once a person sins, his response to the light will show you what whether you are working with a turtle or a peacock. A good parable to illustrate these two extreme responses is the parable of the two sons in Matt. 21:28-32. See if you can guess who is the peacock and who is the turtle.

The father asks them both to go to the vineyard and work. The first son immediately says, "I'll go! I'll go," but he doesn't. The other son says, "I won't go," and ends up going. The second son is the Peacock--"I'm not going to go!" But he repents. The first son is the Turtle--"I'll go!" but he does not. The turtle may say "yes" a million times over, but don't ever expect to see him in the field. The peacock may defiantly say “no” only to repent quickly afterwards and follow.

The Turtle who claimed he would do whatever needed to be done and then did not do so, needs to be confronted with his "Turtle-ness." Why hasn't he followed through? Many times, if you turn the light of God on these barriers, you can get greater Revelation which will go to the heart of the turtle (and as mentioned earlier, this is often fear; the loyalty is to self-preservation, not loving others through God's love). Incidentally, often when you do this, turtles will become very angry. Turtles have learned how to control their world by being victims. They want to look like the good guy (weak but good); they do not want to look like villains.

What happens when you turn on a Peacock's lights? They get angry, too. They, however, usually get angry up front at the point of Revelation and call to Repentance. A Turtle won't get angry until you push and push and push for restitution. Finally he often explodes. At this point he often is, perhaps for the first time, able to see his sinfulness and take steps toward real repentance that will lead to restitution.