If past behavior is a predictor of future behavior, I am not good at making decisions. I will make many, many bad decisions in the future. I will fail. I will choose the wrong door. I will go for option 3 when clearly option 2 was where God was waiting.
But recently I read something in 2 Timothy 2:4 that shook my snowglobe so to speak. It was not some massive revelation. I did not hear the pitter patter of angel wings in my ears. I was not instantly enrobed in a beam of heavenly light. I just realized something that I think you might realize too. Here is what the verse says:
"No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs."
Feel free to insert your own "I'm in the Lord's army joke," but I think there's something else to this idea. I think that when you look at this a little closer, a simple truth jumps out:
In the wrong activity, all the options are bad.
Sometimes I get so focused on making a good decision that I don't take the time to even look at the affair. I worried about which job God wanted me to take in Atlanta for the longest time without even asking him if it was the right time to move. The reality is that every job was the wrong choice because at the time, the move was not the right affair. The move was a civilian affair. The move was something I shouldn't have even been involved in.
It's easy for us to casually drift into circumstances where we have to "make the most of a bad situation." Where we choose the lesser of two evils. The dating relationship that is better than the horrible one, but not really that great. The lie that is the whiter of the two, but still a lie.
I think instead of analyzing our options we need to pull things back and ask, "Is this the right affair?" I think we need to pause and say, "Regardless of my decision, should I even be involved in this activity?" Because the best of the worst is still less than the best can be.
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8 comments:
Well said! This reminds me of something C.S. Lewis wrote:
"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
I look forward to reading more!
That's a great perspective Jon, and it makes sense in practice too. There are so many times when nothing seems like it's the right thing to do.
very well put Prodigal Jon!! Also Stephanie I really like what you said, "We are far too easily pleased."
Could it also be that our prayers are too weak settling for less and not realizing that the best was just one "asking" away? But in that we need to realize that special orders take time and that means... waiting.
Queeniepoo
Excellent. Failure, by the way, is not the enemy. Refusing to learn is. Well done.
great post , i very much agree .
Good words Jon... I too have been pondering these verses. I am going to post this over on my churches blog... sojournhuntsville.org. I think many will benefit!!!
i passed this along to those general officers serving in afghanistan, and (especially) iraq, who can't seem to resist the temptation to meddle in civilian affairs.
yes, four-stars and three-stars, you know who you are.
I've been reading SCL for a few weeks and checked out this site today. SCL makes me laugh, but I enjoy this blog more. You are very transparent in your writing and it is refreshing to read! Thanks for taking the time to post your diary for others to benefit from.
rachel
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