Saturday, 29 August 2009
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What Is It That Keeps Us? On Decision Making
Oh decisions… we are plagued with them throughout our lives, at some points more than others, and today, especially in our society, there is so much pressure to make the right ones; to be perfect; to chose and not look back. I talked about one particular choice with which I was struggling with a friend of mine and she recommended the sermon ‘Don’t Waste Your Life’ by John Piper [listen to it if you never have, it’s quite compelling, and very pertinent to the younger Christian] Upon listening to the sermon, I couldn’t help but reflect upon the choice I had to make, and I realized how little of a part God was playing in this decision. I had pushed him away so that I could try to figure out what it was that I truly wanted, what was best for me [as though that’s not what God wants], and in doing so, I had prevented God from interfering and carrying out his perfect plan for me. The reason? I was foolish enough to believe that I was in control, and it was me alone who should really be in control of my life.
What is it that keeps us? What is it that keeps us from going to God, to handing our everything over to him? I believe that it is pride. We can’t stand to believe that there is a greater power over us, dictating our every move, who is able to change our hearts, our minds and our decisions. We would like to believe that we are our own people and have no influences. And when we hear that God holds this power over us, that God can change our hearts, our minds and our decisions, we say no. No, that’s not how it’s going to be. And we rebel. We go against all that we are supposed to do in God, just to say no. Just to say that we still are the people with power; the people in power, and we chose easy over right, we pick our pride over submission, and we condemn ourselves to hell; all that just to say ‘yes, I do have free will’. And to do all that, to waste our souls and our lives for eternity, just to say what we already know. Yes. I do have free will.
What is it that keeps you from surrendering your pride? What else are you keeping from God?
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- From: katie93
- Name: katie93
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Comments (5)
We can’t stand to believe that there is a greater power over us, dictating our every move, who is able to change our hearts, our minds and our decisions.
The meeting between God and man is a meeting of two freedoms. God does not dictate the actions of man. If this were so, there would be no suffering in the world and we would no longer be human. We would be puppets.
One of the greatest experiences of human life is freedom. When we understand that we are truly free and that we truly choose to be with God, then decision making becomes a joy. This is because we endeavor to choose to do the right thing.
@LoBornlite@xanga - I'm sorry if the way I wrote this makes it seem unclear…I meant it more in the sense that once we have committed our lives to Christ and have succumbed to his will, it is not us living our lives but rather ‘Christ living in us.’ To the person that has yet to make this commitment to God, it seems daunting that The Sprit would have this hold on us and it looks as though it is not our will that we are doing anymore, but in reality, for the Christian, our mind has been renewed and refreshed and our will and Gods are now one in the same. That is the point I was trying to make, but I’m sorry if it came off differently.
@katie93 - I agree with you mostly-- Paul himself considered himself to be a doulos (slave) of Christ. The idea being a possession of Christs.
I think Jesus' words in Matt 6:24 answer the question: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth."
Wealth being one example of a master we decide to serve instead of God-- to submit to God means that we cannot have another master pulling our strings, so to speak.
Good post
For me pride has nothing to do with it...it's fear and doubt about how and when God will have things play out. I subconsciously get in the habit of thinking that I can do things better than God can, because I'm not patient enough to trust Him.
The world just lost Teddy Kennedy. I've spent the last couple of days watching all kinds of people in politics on both sides of the aisle talk about their relationships with him. I watched the memorial service and the funeral the next day and listened to family and friends eulogize him. Whether or not people agreed with his politics, what everyone said about him is that his life was a life of service to others. He fought for people in society who are at the short end of the stick, including women. Among the many causes for which he either wrote or pushed for legislation was the cause that women would be treated equally to men in our society. He helped write and push through legislation that guaranteed underpriviledged children with serious illnesses could receive the same healthcare as his children, two of which had and overcame cancer when they were young.
The stories from people for whom he had done things are seemingly countless. Born into wealth he could have chosen an easier life of pleasure for himself but even after the deaths of his 3 older brothers, one in war and two by assassination, he determined to help others.
I wrote the following using "you" but I don't mean "you the author". I mean anyone, including myself. Just too lazy to change it all at the moment.
I think one definition of pride might be to believe you've been saved by whatever your religion is, then go about life bragging about being saved to yourself and others, thinking you are the only one who is right about anything rather than helping others. Walking in anothers' shoes not only humbles us but enriches us. There's nothing like being given the opportunity to come into the home of someone whom you might not normally count as being in your circle. It's eye opening and life expanding, and usually joyous to get to know someone who's not necessarily like you because what you learn is how much you are actually alike. One thing Ted Kennedy did that I was not aware of until this week...he quietly went to his church and prayed every day for a year for (i believe it was) one of his young nieces who had cancer. He went out and fought for others based on his faith but never made his faith the issue in front of others.