A Very Important Lesson

As school returns to session the sounds of the school bus returning the children home for the day echo outside my window. As I listen they remind me of a lesson taught to me by a very wise lady...

...two ladies and a small office, left little in regards to privacy; phone calls by either person, although not intentionally, were heard by both. For months I sat next to Ms. Dorris and listened everyday, just like clockwork the phone would ring and after saying hello, she would ask the same question...everyday...

 

"Did You Make Wise Choices Today?"
 

You see, Ms. Dorris had two daughters and everyday they would walk home from school. On the way home they would call their mother to check in and have a "safety-line" until they were snug within their home. Everyday, I listened to the same question and then after about 6 months it was as if I heard her say the question for the first time:

"Did You Make Wise Choices Today?"

 

It struck me, she did not ask... Did you behave today? Were you good at school today? Then I reflected on what I ask my kids when I am away from them...do I ask about their choices or do I ask about actions in a way that implies that their behavior is controlled by a toss up good/bad, behaving/misbehaving?

Then I began to reflect on my personal life...unachieved goals, times I lacked self-control...do I attribute my actions and the results to choices or to whim?

Life is full of choices everyday, they begin as soon as we begin to wake up...

• The alarm clock sounds - hit snooze/get up - what are the risks/consequences
• It's time for breakfast - sugary donut/bacon and eggs - what are the risks/consequences
• The work day begins - am I joyful/am I disgruntled - what are the risks/consequences

Throughout the day we go through this process of cause and effect, risk and consequence, almost subconsciously...to the point we no longer stop to think through these actions as choices. Our choices, or should we say whims, continue to pile up as we move through the day...

 

....here is the clincher, whether we decide to stop and think through our choices or just act with no thought on a whim...the consequences do not change. We can blame it on a behavior, circumstance, or all kinds of external influences, but the fact remains...if we hit snooze, ate a sugary donut, show up to work disgruntled and then receive a corrective action...the consequence is not washed away by the excuse of a whim or loss of attention.

Perhaps I am quite slow to learn this lesson so late in life, but since that day, the question Ms. Dorris taught me to stop and consider is never far from my mind:

"Did You Make Wise Choices Today?"

 

So how do you go through life - choices or whims? Would looking at your moments in life as choices to be made change your perspective on your responsibility and role in what happens?

Proverbs 18:21
Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.
 

Proverbs 16:16
Get wisdom—it’s worth more than money; choose insight over income every time.

Joshua 24:15
And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,

Job 34:4
Let us choose justice for ourselves; Let us know among ourselves what is good.

Proverbs 12:26
The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.