Can man escape the value of his decisions?
I think very often I can downplay the importance of the decisions that I make. Part of this is wishful thinking. I see the consequences of my bad decisions and I want them to go away. If there's a way to reduce the value of the decisions I make, then I can have more peace of mind. The more I begin to think about the meaning and implications behind the things our culture says, the more I see strange some of it is. For example, we live in a culture that pumps our heads full of this message that we have the power to change the world, which implies that our decisions can really make a difference. And yet, when we are faced with the negative consequences of our decisions, people tell us that it's not a big a deal as we think it is and that everyone makes mistakes but what's important is that we get back up and keep believing in ourselves. This would be a really good thing except that most of the time it ends up being a mode of pacification that numbs the pain which is is actually good for me to feel because it's true. It's the natural pain that comes from making decisions that cause negative consequences. It is good to feel this pain deeply so that next time we don't want to make that decision again. I guess what I'm saying is that our culture seems to stress the value of our decisions when it's convenient and to downplay the value of our decisions when it's convenient. What needs to happen is for the value of decisions not to be romanticized or downplayed, subjected to one's own feelings, but to recognized for what they are: full of importance. Decisions do make a difference and there needs to be a reckoning of each individual with the decisions they make and the consequences of those decisions.
"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths." Genesis 3: 6-7
Most reading this have heard a hundred messages on this passage. The one thread of this tapestry I want to focus on is the inherent value of a decision made in the present moment. You can get up right now from where you are reading this, go outside, and talk to the guy walking down the street. You could invite him over for dinner. You could punch him in the face. You could murder him. You could look him in the eyes and tell him that he's deeply loved. All of these things you can do in the present moment and there will be very real consequences to be experienced in the next present moment. Can you see the inherent value of decisions that is connected to your action but yet exists somehow outside of you? You don't get to decide the consequences. One action might leave you feeling guilty while the other action might leave you feeling happy and light of heart. Likely, you will not kill the man and feel happy and light of heart. There's is an inherent value to your decisions that you take part in but you can not change the value of that decisions. It exists outside of you.
You can see this thread of truth clearly in the verses that recount Eve's story. In a moment of time, just like we exist within now, Eve acted out the verb "to eat". She ate. The verse gives the reasoning behind why she ate and also gives the consequences that resulted of her eating. Her decision cannot be romanticized or downplayed. She would hear the very real voice of God moving among the trees and asking, "Where are you?" The voice resounded in the present moment and fell upon Eve's eardrums. "Where are you?" There is a reckoning to be made with each decision. There is a value to them that we cannot alter no matter what our friends or the culture says. This is a good thing. It is good because it is true.
It is a good thing for consequences to happen. In one sense, it is merely the ways things are. One could not appreciate the beauty of a movie unfolding if this truth of decisions and consequences did not exist. We are captivated by movies that depict a man or woman making decisions that have consequences. I think this seems so obvious that we don't realize we actually love watching action and consequence. We relate when we see a coming-of-age story about a boy who learns to be a man. The boy is learning about the consequences of decisions and how they impact both himself and those around him. He learns that they do in fact make a difference for good or for bad. Just like you see Eve make a decision based on what she saw was good, you see the boy in a story learn what is really good. His value comes in line with a standard that exists outside of himself. He learns to see what is good and he grows in making very real decisions that win battles or the love of a woman.
As I picture Eve's teeth sinking into the fruit in a very real present moment in time (not some fairytale), I feel the pain that she felt. For the first time she feels the feeling of shame and wants to cover herself and hide from God. It's the exact same shame that I feel after wrong decisions I make. When I made the decision, I thought I could alter the value of my decisions and control the consequences but I couldn't. Eventually there is the moment I have to respond to my friend who asks me, "How are things going with that girl?" The shame creeps over my skin and I begin physically fidgeting as I spill out the words. There is a reckoning that is happening and it is a good reckoning because I am coming to terms with the truth and value of things that exists completely outside of myself. I made a decision at a moment in time that had real consequences and they are consequences I must accept responsibility for.
We are all that boy in the coming-of-age story that we love and if we don't see ourselves that way, I hope we all can come to recognize ourselves as that boy. Eventually the boy comes face-to-face with a man who won't let him escape and keep defining his own terms. The man looks him in the eye and holds him accountable. The boy knows he can't mess around anymore or there will be consequences. At the same the time the man looks the boy in the eye and says, "You're valuable, you're loved, you're respected, your decisions make a difference, and you have to accept responsibility for all of them. The boy learns this as he walks alongside the man.
You can play all the games that our culture plays trying to redefine and redraw the lines that govern how we should make decisions and what the consequences should be but how have you seen this play out as you honestly examine your own life? How have you seen this play out as you examine the what you know of human history? Can man ultimately escape the consequences of decisions? They end up having a real effect upon the present moment and the man is responsible for causing that effect. Eve held the apple in her hand and made a decision. She brought it to her mouth and her teeth sunk in. Adam did the same. And then they ran. Isn't it haunting that such catastrophe with consequences we still feel today was incapsulated in a single moment of time and with the act of the human mouth biting into fruit? I see this so clearly in my own life. So much catastrophe encapsulated in one moment and they are things I am still haunted by. I assessed the fruit, saw that it was to my liking and took a bite. My decision mattered deeply.
I hope, in writing this, to encourage myself and you that decisions have unchanging value. Last week, I wrote about how the Father's love is meant to overflow into obedience. In light I what I write now, I think it will help to think of connecting our experience of the Father's love with our decision-making capacity, otherwise known as our "will". Most of our wills are very weak - I know mine is. Once we connect the Father's love to our will so that it influences our decision-making, we will find ourselves growing and maturing. We will find ourselves establishing ourselves in the love of God.
A good question to ask in closing is this: how does God define love? God shows his love for us in this, that even while we were sinners, Christ died for us. If this is how God defines love, how can we love in the same way? Can you make the opposite assessment of Eve and say, "I see that Jesus is good for food, that he is a delight to the eyes, and that he is to be desired for making one wise?" Then can you take a bite, in other words, make a decision in the present moment, with all of its' value and impending consequence, and say, "Even while those around me are sinners, I will die for them. I will go to great lengths to show them the love of God that has been shown to me?" Isn't this what it means to follow Christ? He said, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." Then he said, "This is my commandment, that you love one another." He also said that all of the commandments were encapsulated in, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself." You see how he is not letting you escape your day of reckoning? He is trying to reckon you with the Father's love. Will you recognize the value of the Father's love and the value of your decisions in the present moment? The two need to be connected and to cause you to make decisions in your present moment so that very real consequences will result. We can all do this. It's as simple as getting up and walking out the door. I'm starting to realize that the actual doing of things that is not that hard but it's really the act of deciding deciding to do them that is so hard. The Father's love is the spring of decision and action for the one who follows Jesus. It's a spring waiting for you to drink and like all water, it is nourishment to actually live.
I think very often I can downplay the importance of the decisions that I make. Part of this is wishful thinking. I see the consequences of my bad decisions and I want them to go away. If there's a way to reduce the value of the decisions I make, then I can have more peace of mind. The more I begin to think about the meaning and implications behind the things our culture says, the more I see strange some of it is. For example, we live in a culture that pumps our heads full of this message that we have the power to change the world, which implies that our decisions can really make a difference. And yet, when we are faced with the negative consequences of our decisions, people tell us that it's not a big a deal as we think it is and that everyone makes mistakes but what's important is that we get back up and keep believing in ourselves. This would be a really good thing except that most of the time it ends up being a mode of pacification that numbs the pain which is is actually good for me to feel because it's true. It's the natural pain that comes from making decisions that cause negative consequences. It is good to feel this pain deeply so that next time we don't want to make that decision again. I guess what I'm saying is that our culture seems to stress the value of our decisions when it's convenient and to downplay the value of our decisions when it's convenient. What needs to happen is for the value of decisions not to be romanticized or downplayed, subjected to one's own feelings, but to recognized for what they are: full of importance. Decisions do make a difference and there needs to be a reckoning of each individual with the decisions they make and the consequences of those decisions.
"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths." Genesis 3: 6-7
Most reading this have heard a hundred messages on this passage. The one thread of this tapestry I want to focus on is the inherent value of a decision made in the present moment. You can get up right now from where you are reading this, go outside, and talk to the guy walking down the street. You could invite him over for dinner. You could punch him in the face. You could murder him. You could look him in the eyes and tell him that he's deeply loved. All of these things you can do in the present moment and there will be very real consequences to be experienced in the next present moment. Can you see the inherent value of decisions that is connected to your action but yet exists somehow outside of you? You don't get to decide the consequences. One action might leave you feeling guilty while the other action might leave you feeling happy and light of heart. Likely, you will not kill the man and feel happy and light of heart. There's is an inherent value to your decisions that you take part in but you can not change the value of that decisions. It exists outside of you.
You can see this thread of truth clearly in the verses that recount Eve's story. In a moment of time, just like we exist within now, Eve acted out the verb "to eat". She ate. The verse gives the reasoning behind why she ate and also gives the consequences that resulted of her eating. Her decision cannot be romanticized or downplayed. She would hear the very real voice of God moving among the trees and asking, "Where are you?" The voice resounded in the present moment and fell upon Eve's eardrums. "Where are you?" There is a reckoning to be made with each decision. There is a value to them that we cannot alter no matter what our friends or the culture says. This is a good thing. It is good because it is true.
It is a good thing for consequences to happen. In one sense, it is merely the ways things are. One could not appreciate the beauty of a movie unfolding if this truth of decisions and consequences did not exist. We are captivated by movies that depict a man or woman making decisions that have consequences. I think this seems so obvious that we don't realize we actually love watching action and consequence. We relate when we see a coming-of-age story about a boy who learns to be a man. The boy is learning about the consequences of decisions and how they impact both himself and those around him. He learns that they do in fact make a difference for good or for bad. Just like you see Eve make a decision based on what she saw was good, you see the boy in a story learn what is really good. His value comes in line with a standard that exists outside of himself. He learns to see what is good and he grows in making very real decisions that win battles or the love of a woman.
As I picture Eve's teeth sinking into the fruit in a very real present moment in time (not some fairytale), I feel the pain that she felt. For the first time she feels the feeling of shame and wants to cover herself and hide from God. It's the exact same shame that I feel after wrong decisions I make. When I made the decision, I thought I could alter the value of my decisions and control the consequences but I couldn't. Eventually there is the moment I have to respond to my friend who asks me, "How are things going with that girl?" The shame creeps over my skin and I begin physically fidgeting as I spill out the words. There is a reckoning that is happening and it is a good reckoning because I am coming to terms with the truth and value of things that exists completely outside of myself. I made a decision at a moment in time that had real consequences and they are consequences I must accept responsibility for.
We are all that boy in the coming-of-age story that we love and if we don't see ourselves that way, I hope we all can come to recognize ourselves as that boy. Eventually the boy comes face-to-face with a man who won't let him escape and keep defining his own terms. The man looks him in the eye and holds him accountable. The boy knows he can't mess around anymore or there will be consequences. At the same the time the man looks the boy in the eye and says, "You're valuable, you're loved, you're respected, your decisions make a difference, and you have to accept responsibility for all of them. The boy learns this as he walks alongside the man.
You can play all the games that our culture plays trying to redefine and redraw the lines that govern how we should make decisions and what the consequences should be but how have you seen this play out as you honestly examine your own life? How have you seen this play out as you examine the what you know of human history? Can man ultimately escape the consequences of decisions? They end up having a real effect upon the present moment and the man is responsible for causing that effect. Eve held the apple in her hand and made a decision. She brought it to her mouth and her teeth sunk in. Adam did the same. And then they ran. Isn't it haunting that such catastrophe with consequences we still feel today was incapsulated in a single moment of time and with the act of the human mouth biting into fruit? I see this so clearly in my own life. So much catastrophe encapsulated in one moment and they are things I am still haunted by. I assessed the fruit, saw that it was to my liking and took a bite. My decision mattered deeply.
I hope, in writing this, to encourage myself and you that decisions have unchanging value. Last week, I wrote about how the Father's love is meant to overflow into obedience. In light I what I write now, I think it will help to think of connecting our experience of the Father's love with our decision-making capacity, otherwise known as our "will". Most of our wills are very weak - I know mine is. Once we connect the Father's love to our will so that it influences our decision-making, we will find ourselves growing and maturing. We will find ourselves establishing ourselves in the love of God.
A good question to ask in closing is this: how does God define love? God shows his love for us in this, that even while we were sinners, Christ died for us. If this is how God defines love, how can we love in the same way? Can you make the opposite assessment of Eve and say, "I see that Jesus is good for food, that he is a delight to the eyes, and that he is to be desired for making one wise?" Then can you take a bite, in other words, make a decision in the present moment, with all of its' value and impending consequence, and say, "Even while those around me are sinners, I will die for them. I will go to great lengths to show them the love of God that has been shown to me?" Isn't this what it means to follow Christ? He said, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." Then he said, "This is my commandment, that you love one another." He also said that all of the commandments were encapsulated in, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself." You see how he is not letting you escape your day of reckoning? He is trying to reckon you with the Father's love. Will you recognize the value of the Father's love and the value of your decisions in the present moment? The two need to be connected and to cause you to make decisions in your present moment so that very real consequences will result. We can all do this. It's as simple as getting up and walking out the door. I'm starting to realize that the actual doing of things that is not that hard but it's really the act of deciding deciding to do them that is so hard. The Father's love is the spring of decision and action for the one who follows Jesus. It's a spring waiting for you to drink and like all water, it is nourishment to actually live.
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