Choices and consequences
As men and women look back and try to assess their lives, there are two statements that seem to be the most commonly said: “I have no regrets” and “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Sometimes we make those kinds of statements because we are filled with a certain amount of pride and simply are unwilling to admit to others anything that might be unflattering or embarrassing.
Sometimes we make those kinds of statements because we actually believe them, because we falsely believe that we can do no wrong. But I think that we most often make those kinds of statements simply because it’s too hard to face the truth.
It’s painful to bring to light things we’d rather let remain hidden, to take an honest look at things we’re not proud of, painful to admit we haven’t always done the right thing or made the right choices in life. And yet it is absolutely essential if we ever want to grow or be more today than we were yesterday.
It’s essential if we ever want to be the beautiful people God created us to be and it’s essential if we ever want to change the world.
In numerous places in Scripture, we are reminded that our choices matter, that our choices have real and lasting consequences, and that whatever is not “right” or “good” in our world is because we have made it so — have each contributed to making the world less than God created it to be. We might like to say that it’s all Adam and Eve’s fault. But that was just the start.
We know the Scripture story of Jesus out in the desert being tempted by the devil. And we see Jesus refusing to give in to the temptations placed before him, refusing to be seduced by things that appeal to ego or ambition or self-interest. Rather, Jesus simply does the right thing, the good thing, the selfless thing, the holy thing. External forces don’t drive his decisions or his choices. Rather, he simply is true to himself, the real him, who he is at his core, who he is in his very essence. Maybe it can be that way with us. And while we can never be perfect as Jesus is perfect, we still can live authentically, as God created.
But it can never happen if we are the kind of people who are convinced that we can say with conviction, “I have no regrets. And I wouldn’t change a thing.” But it can happen if we sincerely believe that we NEED to change, that God WANTS us to change, and that we CAN change. It’s easy to come to the conclusion that the world isn’t the beautiful place God created to be because of the actions of others. It’s easy to say, “It’s not my fault.”
And in one sense that’s true. We’re not EACH responsible for EVERYTHING in need of healing in this world. That seems pretty clear. But that doesn’t mean that we can simply presume that we haven’t contributed to the problems, the suffering, the injustices. This holy season of Lent reminds us that each of us has failed to live as God invites us to live. And so, may we begin this Lenten Season by simply acknowledging our role in the world not being as it should. Regrets? You bet. Things we should have done differently? Absolutely. That’s just the truth. Now what are WE going to do about it? And what are we going to let GOD do about it? It takes both.