I’m speaking from the heart today, because these readings ring so true today, and are so pertinent to my life, and life in general. These words today in Scripture are those words I strive to live by, and are the dream I know my wife and I have for our son, and that is to simply do the right thing. To place God and others before ourselves, and when we mess up, having the character and the courage to own up to it, to take responsibility, repent, and choose to do what is right.
Why is this so difficult? We know what the right answer is, but yet we often choose to do the other thing, to put our own interests before others. And this isn’t just in the daily life of a 9-year-old, but more so we as adults. The world is littered with people who say they will do something, and then choose to do whatever they want. And I’ve been guilty of this sin, many times.
And so we come to a choice in life, a fork in the road. We encounter these many times every day, in our family life, in our work, driving on the highway, and everywhere in-between, and we have a choice to make. A decision.
At these very moments, we have a simple choice to make. Each and every time. The Holy Spirit is there, He comes to us. Nudging us. It’s like the old cartoons, where you have an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, messing with your mind. Do I click on that next website, or do I close the browser and get back to work? Do I keep thumbing on my phone, or simply put it down? Do I speed up on the highway, or just let that driver go? Do I take 10 seconds, and gather my thoughts before I say anything that I may regret?
We know the answer. Every time. Every time the Holy Spirit is there, nudging us, and we know what the right thing is, but so many times we choose to do what feels better at the time, so satisfy that desire, that emotion that we are feeling, because we think it will make us feel good.
But it’s a lie. So often, we miss the Lord right in front of us because we are so set on our own interests. But we need to think, and ask ourselves, what kind of day is that person having that just cut me off in traffic? What battles are they dealing with? By me speeding up and acting reckless, I am putting other people on the road – husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters – their lives and the lives of their family in jeopardy.
By me wasting time on the internet, on my cell phone, when I should be working, think about the other people I work with, who depend on me to get my job done, so they can do theirs, so the business can be successful, so that everyone can provide for their family.
And by me getting upset and yelling or saying something hurtful to my spouse or son, what impact will this have on their life, on their mentality, and on their feelings.
Every choice we make has an impact. In in every decision point in our lives, all these readings are saying today is to choose to love – to love others, and to love God through our actions – rather than just ourselves and our own interests.
And here’s the key ingredient – when we mess up, and don’t make the right choice, we own up to it, listen to that feeling inside us and repent, admit our mistake, or simply revert and choose to do what is right. It may or may not feel good in the immediate short term, but in the long run it always does.
Let us all strive to do the right thing, in every aspect of our lives, and simply choose to love others through our actions. When we make our decisions with love and respect in mind, we’ll often do the better thing without even realizing it.
