We all know that moment. That instant when a thought comes into our mind, a desire. That apple looks so delicious, so ready for the picking. But dare we......? Should we......? That moment when we are faced with a....
CHOICE!!!
Life is made up out of a never ending series of choices. We all remember those "Write-Your-Own-Adventure" books, where you read to the end of the page and then have to make a choice. That choice then sends us to another page where a new choice awaits. However, life is unfortunately not a book where you get a "Do-Over" card.
Eric Klinger did a study at the University of Minnesota where he determined that the average person is faced daily with between 300 and 17 000 decisions!! Unbelievable. Most of these decisions we are not even aware of. However, there is no avoiding them.
It was exactly such a decision Eve was faced with that day in Eden. Yes, I know, we all think to ourselves that if it were me, I would have acted differently. I would have been so much wiser. I wonder? To her it was not so black and white. It was not a mere choice of eating that fruit or declining. It entailed far more than that. It looked so enticing, full of promise and endless possibilities. Knowledge beckoned, enlightenment was offered. The thought of becoming like God was overwhelming. After all, what would be so bad about eating the fruit of that beautiful tree. It looked so innocent. Standing there, she felt entitled to eat the fruit.
The decision was made; she reached out, plucked the fruit and ate, thus setting in motion an unstoppable chain of events that determined her destiny, and the destiny of mankind.....
Nothing has changed. We too, often stand in front of the proverbial tree with its enticing fruit, and have to make a decision. A choice that will affect our destiny. What will we choose?
It is at that moment that we have to take a step back and carefully weigh the options. We have to stay calm, and very importantly, not make any hasty decisions. We have to weigh the pros and cons, collect all the data, compute what the cost, the consequences would be. We have to seek advice and pray that God might show us the way.
Then we have to wait. Patience. We have to analyze our feelings and face our worries and fears.
Many people make choices without stopping and taking all these things into consideration. They rush in where angels fear to tread. However, other people again rethink a choice for so long that they end up missing the opportunity. They analyze it to death and end up not making a decision at all! However in that lies the catch - NOT making a decision IS making one!
Taking action, making a choice is often a fine balance between impulse and academic research. We have to consider all the facts and consequences, but we also have to learn to listen to our gut feelings, our instincts.
Could Eve have done this, I wonder? Did she act on impulse, or did she carefully consider her options? Would the outcome have been different? I think Eve was lost before she even took that fruit. She was fooled. She did not know her enemy or his intentions, but she also did not know her Creator well. If she did, she would have known that God knows what is best for us, He has no agendas to harm us, His love for us is pure. The enemy on the other hand, is crafty. His intentions are always for us to disappoint the Lord; he will always try to sway us towards his way of thinking. He comes to us with half truths, in the guise of sincerity. His tongue is smooth, ready to entice us with pretty promises.
We, as Christians, are very fortunate, because we have a gauge by which to judge our choices. We have a plumb line. That plumb line is the Word of God. Grey situations take on greater clarity once we measure it against the Word of God; it becomes more black/white. In fact, it is often when we make decisions without consulting the Word that we end up taking the wrong course of action.
Are you faced with a choice today? Are you feeling indecisive? Overwhelmed? Then I would like to encourage you to PUSH - Pray Until Something Happens.
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