Consider the last 24 hours. Congratulations. You were just offered numerous ways to change yourself, others, and the course of your life. Most of the time you were barely cognizant of the decisions proffered. Opportunity didn't simply knock; it was firing cannon balls at your front door. This being the case, I don't blame you for not answering.
I've often heard people complain at restaurants that there are "too many choices," it really doesn't surprise me that many would prefer to attribute change to powers outside there control. This way, if the "meal" isn't to our liking, we can conclude that, "well hey, I didn't order it, so Im not responsible for enjoying it." We can all be miniature critics of "fate," or "providence," or whatever we attribute to deciding the course of our lives. This is an enormously heavy burden off our shoulders! (Alex would say "phewf!") since a critic is rarely required to take something mediocre and improve upon it. Rather, their number one priority is to pass judgement on what is presented to them.
Pass judgement on providence? Yeesh. Sounds daunting.
But with all of these choices, and our apparent numbness to their quantity and frequency (perhaps cold ocean water is the culprit), it is essential to view each choice through the appropriate scuba mask (or lens for you landlubbers). In order to use a very pertinent example, let us briefly consider the lens of a follower of Christ.
Jesus Christ taught that the greatest commandment was first to love God, and then to love others as we love ourselves. Using this lens or paradigm, our choices can now be separated (for the most part) quite easily. At any moment what we say, think, or do can be tested by answering one question. Does this thought, word, or deed demonstrate that loving God is most important to me? Subsequently, does it demonstrate that I love others as I love myself? Thus this lens becomes a divider and filter for us and helps us to be consistent, faithful, and improving people. An honorable goal if there ever was one.
I understand that this technique is probably not foreign to you. In fact, I'm sure many of you could give me a lesson or two on good decision making. Example: once my older brothers convinced me to jump off a boulder into a pile of hay. A fine decision to be sure; except when the pile of hay turns out to be a hornets nest. My caring and brave older brothers made sure to pass along their sage advice of "run!" as they sprinted off to the wall that separated our house from the small dessert. Like I said; I am first in line for lessons on good decision making.
My goal is simply to encourage each of us to make sure that our scuba goggles are clear and untainted. This world can be a murky place; hence our need for the clearest lens is paramount. Beeeeee yourself. And make sure you've made a good decision about who exactly that is.
My love for you is like an ocean, inside of another ocean.
Dan
