Choices

There are decisions and then there are decisions. You can decide whether you want to buy a burrito for lunch or a salad. That’s one decision. You can also decide whether to forgive someone who has betrayed you or kill them. That’s another type of decision. Each choice you make has a result. The wrong lunch may set you back a few pounds, the wrong choice when you’ve been hurt could set you back a lifetime.

I was watching the news a few days ago. There was this guy who worked for a company where he was being bullied by his boss. I guess the boss just didn’t like his work and was constantly berating him and putting him down. This poor guy had one of those days, and who hasn’t had one of these, where he snapped. He was just at a low point and couldn’t take any more of the abuse.

The news said he went to a secluded place, pulled out a handgun, and killed himself. Decisions. Some are mundane, some are insane, but we all have to make them. “Why?” I thought. “Why did he kill himself? Why didn’t he find a friend and talk it out? Why didn’t he just quit his job and start the exciting journey of finding something new? Why didn’t he ask God to help him get through?”

I want to take a moment to dwell in this blog about the choices we make and why we make them. Your choices determine who you are. Character is defined as the choices we make when we are in a tough situation. Those choices when you’re hurting ,when you’re mad, when you’re down, are the most important choices you make in your life. They can propel you forward, set you back, or in some sad cases stop the journey all together.

So if I looked at the choices you’ve made in the last couple of months, what would that tell me about you? The poor choices. Were they choices to spend money you don’t have? Be with someone you should stay away from? Take something that wasn’t yours? Tell something that wasn’t true? See, those kinds of decisions tell me about your weaknesses and you have to ask yourself why they’re weaknesses to begin with. In the Christian walk God wants your weakness. God wants you to be strong and free. Freedom is when you can make the right decisions based on conviction not emotional vulnerability.

I thought a lot about that guy that killed himself. That was a pretty permanent decision to what could have been a temporary situation don’t you think? I mean bad jobs can change. You can find something else. It wasn’t like he didn’t have choices he just didn’t SEE all the options available to him. Really isn’t that the key? You take a good look at all the options you have before you and then decide on the best one. That is the sign of someone healthy. It’s thinking before leaping.

I work as an auctioneer in addition to my chaplaincy job. I love auctioneering. As an auctioneer you help create an atmosphere where the energy rises, people are excited, and then the bidding get’s going and you feed on that while calling for bids. This past week I was working down at the port of Anacortes. I was selling a beautiful boat they had available for sale. There must have been sixty people on the dock that came to look at the boat. I had five serious bidders and we started bidding!

The tension was building and I had two bidders going at each other which is an auctioneers dream! As the auctioneer you are dancing between the two of them calling for higher bids. As I was up to twenty two thousand dollars I glanced out and this guy put his hand up. “Twenty thousand one hundred!” I cried thinking I had a new bidder in the contest. “NO!” He cried, “I was just scratching my nose!”

“Sir!” I said, “That was a twenty two thousand one hundred dollar scratch!” The whole placed laughed and I let him out of the bidding. There are some choices you can make that can be reversed, and then others that can’t. I can tell you the rest of that crowd was very careful how they scratched after that moment. They all made the right choice because they learned from that one guy.

In my business I try and teach people that God is in the choices business. If you are facing some difficulty and you have to make a decision, God is there. The Lord is there to guide and show you the way. There are always options. No matter how difficult your situation God will give you peace and options if you pray and wait upon Him to answer you. So my plea with you today is not to make a permanent choice to what is probably a temporary difficulty. Learn from my mistakes. I’ve had really tough situations and I can tell you with full confidence and gratitude that God has resolved them. I have some things now that are tough, and I’m waiting for the Lord to guide and lead me through them. That is a good choice.

I know lots of people that have stayed in the storm, and it’s passed, and the Lord has brought out the sunshine. I know people who have been crushed, and they have learned to live and love again. You can be one of those people -- the choice is up to you! May God bless your life and give you the joy of heaven.

Amen!

Pat Grant, Chaplain