The Truth About Consequences

The trouble with politics is we are each our own unique person, and a consensus on everything is impossible. The idea of compromise means we must give something up.  The challenge for each of us is understanding exactly what the consequences of the decision will be without a clear vision of the future.

The same idea haunts us every day if we give in to reminiscing or regrets.  "If we'd only done something differently", or "if we had not done this thing" our lives would be so much better... the fantasized unknown must certainly be better than our current resulting situation. Our society likes to admire those who overcome bad situations.  When someone overcomes their own folly, we are glad...when they overcome someone else's, they are a hero.

The sad fact is, we must reminisce a bit if we are to learn from our mistakes, right?  Ah, but I digress from my real point here, which is that sometimes we can do everything right, but the outcome was not what we believed it would be.  As a believer in Christ, this can be especially disturbing since praying and seeking the Lord for direction and next steps becomes part of a disciple's DNA. There are times that He has us follow a path that leads not to our perception of success, but simply of obedience.  (The Most High God has perfected the long view; we have not).

I have said often and believe it is worth saying again:  it is not the crescendo events in our lives that will necessarily be what is celebrated in heaven on our account.  It will be the accumulation of small choices to do His will that will change eternity not just for ourselves, but for those it touches. The most valuable things I do are the things I am unaware of.  It is so important to walk in purity and the direction of His Holy Spirit so that I am "naturally" doing what He intends me to do for His perfect plan, not the thing I decide and muck up from there.

As we move into a new year with so much intensity towards intent for good, it would be wise to remember we are not capable of anything truly good without the discipline of resting in the presence of Jesus the Christ.  Let us "be" in Him while we intend to do good.

When No Answer Means No Answer

Way back in the stone age, I was told that when someone was pushing the boundaries of physical affection on a date I should be sure and say "no" if they were starting to do something I did not want.  The phrase, "no answer means yes" was the short way of stating this advice.  So it seems that in the vacuum of response some of us will just forge ahead.

When to seek permission/alignment is another topic, but when you go to the trouble of asking for input or approval, not getting an answer creates the temptation to move to second base.  One of the most challenging tasks of any job is stating your need in the right format at the right time when that person is in exactly the right frame of mind....to get the response you desire.

We all know what happens most of the time.  You pick the wrong format... you send an email that gets ignored.  Or in the email, you thought it would be helpful to give the background on the request and your intended target fell into a coma before reading all of it and didn't see the question.  Or you ask them in the elevator and they say "yes" so quickly that in the back of your mind you KNOW they did not understand what they just committed to... and will have no memory of it.  Or, my favorite, they simply changed their mind after your conversation and email and neglected to tell you of the shift in position.

It can feel like you've become a Who from Whoville when all is silent.  Our lively imaginations kick in to create self-involved activity in the void:  they don't like us any more; or they are mad at us for that thing we failed to do last month.  We are programmed to desire a response.  I can see you're trying not to be the little kid in the back seat asking "are we there yet?" every five minutes, but you want to, don't you?

The worst silence of all is when it feels like silence from Above.  No matter how well honed our "walking by faith" skills have become, if we are walking at all we will encounter seasons where we simply do not know what to do.  It's as if our fleece has disappeared in the morning, never mind whether it had dew on it or not (Judges 6:36-40).

If you know what I mean you understand how frustrating such seasons can be, though we should feel privileged to experience them.  It is, after all, His invitation to seek Him in a deeper place.  Waiting is a verb. It means you sometimes need to keep pursuing the person and not make a move on your "thing" until you have clarity and a response.