Knowing Me

June 12, 2015

Ever have one of those moments?  You know, the ones where that little voice on one shoulder is telling you what you should do while that other little critter on the opposite shoulder is telling you something completely different?  Kind of reminds me of Adam, Eve, and the serpent.

Now, let’s just go ahead and settle this once and for all:  if Adam had taken control of the situation, things would not have gotten so bad for the rest of mankind.  He had a choice and he made the wrong one.  Eve?  She messed up--no doubt about that.  But Adam still had hope but...he was tempted and in his weakness, he fell.

You and I are daily faced with choices that will either increase our knowledge or make us to be fools because we choose to let our hearts dictate what our minds know should be done.  Whether that deals with finances, food, or fellowship with folks we really shouldn’t be fellowing with, the choice is ours.  God gave us free will.  While we often think we know what is best for us, more times than not I daresay if we’d stop, be still for a moment or two, and pray about it before just jumping in that our selections would be quite different.

I was brought up in a home that was dominated by a man whose mantra could have been “Do as I say and not as I do.”  As a result, when finally on my own, I made many decisions based on my feelings because years of repression had taught me that “knowing” something was to be done in a certain way didn’t necessarily imply that that was the best way it could be done or if it needed to be done at all.  When decisions needed to be decided, I was finally able to have things my way.  And, you guessed it, my way wasn’t always right.  Oh the foolish things I did, knowing better but carelessly making hasty decisions that often cost me.  The pride of doing it my way lasted about six seconds while the repercussions of my actions lasted infinitely longer.

As I conclude this blog today, I strongly urge you, friends, to think before you act.  Take just a couple of seconds and pause.  Breathe.  Try to look at what you are doing from a higher realm and think:  what effects will this choice have in an hour, in a day, in a month?  Will the guilt be worth the momentary glory?

Let’s pray!

Dear Lord, as I come to You this day, my heart has some decisions that want to be made quickly and--if I am honest--in ways that will gratify my flesh.  I can tell myself that it’s my time, that these things only regard me, and that it’s no one’s business what I do with my life.  But Lord, You and I both know that that is not true.  My life--in spite of what I think, in spite of those two voices on either shoulder--does matter to many and the choices I make are not just about me.

So, help me, Father?  Help me to pause, pray, and predict the outcome of the options presented before me.  May I please You, honor You, and honor myself and the ones who are affected by this in the name of Jesus I pray.  Amen.