Macro vs. Micro Decision Points
There are major decision points, minor decision points, and mid-range decision points up and down the spectrum throughout life. Ultimately, we are defined by the decisions we make. Not by the zip code in which you were born. Not by one’s tribal affiliation – unless you insist on it, and that in itself is a conscious decision.
Decision Points – The Big Ones
Most major decision points in life involve what to study, what vocation to take up, where to live, and the person with whom to share one’s life. Children – if and how many – that is of course huge.
Major decision points are obvious. They direct one’s life in crucial ways in a singular stroke. We spend time thinking about them, consulting trusted allies, and scrutinizing their cost verses their potential benefit. Months, and sometimes years later, one often engages in second-guessing over major decisions. Even when we thrive, we’ll often conduct an internal after-action review. Could our situation have been improved with a different decision? Or a minor tweak that fed into a major decision? It’s natural. We indulge in regret for the past, and anxiety for the future. That’s why it’s usually best to live in the present, learn from the past, and plan for the future.
The Fall Is Coming Whether Or Not You Planted
As I have told my children and my college freshmen students, “you will never have more control over your life than you do now, so every day, make good decisions. Because every day, you lose just a tiny bit of control over the trajectory of your life, and far too much of our time is wasted by recovering from poor decisions. Start making good decisions now. No matter what you’ve done in the past, start making good decisions each and every day, every hour, every minute. There is plenty out there we can’t control. Best to focus on what we can.
The process of fulfillment can occur at any point in life. The question is – what is the length of that process? That will depend on when one has sown the seeds of one’s fulfillment. It’s important not to conflate contentment and fulfillment. This is not the same contentment mentioned by the writer of Hebrews nor is this remotely related to John The Baptist instructing the Roman Soldiers to be “content” with their wages. That is a whole other post.
The contentment I am talking about here is the state in which we are no longer motivated to grow. It’s an arrogance in which we wallow, allowing ourselves to think that no one – not even God has anything left to teach us.
Just as important as the big obvious decisions are the small seemingly inconsequential decisions that add up. X-box or homework? Chicken with steamed broccoli, or a bagel with cream cheese? Protein or sugar?
– Muhammad Ali
The Small Ones Add Up
Nearly every minute of every day is a decision point, and all of them have either consequences or benefits.
One thing I have learned over the years, is that God does not rescue us from the consequences of our bad decisions. That may seem like a harsh thing to say. Don’t expect me to walk that back. Our lives follow the Law of The Farm. Which is just another way of saying God’s Law. Or The Law. We sow the seeds of our lives from the moment we are born and our sense of worth depends on how well we train ourselves to delay gratification.
It is impossible for us to break the law. We can only break ourselves against the law.
– Cecil B. DeMille
If one has spent the last 40 years destroying one’s liver with alcohol, will God replace it? Should one even pray for that miracle? Yes, God is merciful. God is also just, and that alone is a good enough reason for me to never pray for Justice.
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23
– Proverbs 14:23
I’ve born witness to people pouring their hearts out at the Altar and my heart breaks for them. There are plenty of awful variables in this world beyond our grasp. We cannot live our lives for others, nor can we choose the path for those closest to us. We can of course choose our reaction, and therein lies our true power.
So What Kind Of A Day Will You Have?
The Church is filled with those who present themselves at the Pastor’s doorstep and demand that he or she undo a lifetime of poor decision making. You may not say that’s what you’re there for, but you know. And so do they… and so does God. Your Pastor can still guide you to proper course correction. Ultimately, it is for us (under the umbrella of God’s mercy) to make those corrections with whatever days remain to us.
Selah.
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