Decisions that change who we are:
This is going to be a 4 part blog series. We all make decisions in life but what happens when those are decisions that we can’t undo? There are some decisions that change who we are as a person.
Sometimes those small decisions lead us to the big decision that changes everything. Driving while drunk can be a life-altering decision that changes who we are. Robbing someone can be a decision made that changes who we are. Stealing can be a decision that changes who we are. No matter what we do these are life- altering decisions that can change who we are.
Why would anyone make a life-altering decision? There can be many excuses but the one thing it isn’t is a mistake. Every decision that you make is a choice. The key is to put the right stuff in you so that you can make the right choices.
Maybe you get behind on your bills so you decide that you are going to rob something in order to stay afloat. Then that person bucks and you shoot them so now you just completely changed who you are and where your life could have went. Think about it, you chose to change your life in a negative way instead of just going bankrupt.
Maybe you are at a party and you decide that you are going to drive home so you do and crash your car into someone. Again, you just changed completely who you are. You could have just made the choice to not drive but you allowed yourself to think you could handle it. I don’t care how much drink you consume, you should not drive after that period!
In both of those instances you have changed your life forever. You will do many years in prison and you will change how you see life. Maybe before this you were always positive but now that changes. Now you become so full of guilt that you don’t want to live. When you get there you don’t want to do anything.
Maybe your guilt has taken over so much that you change your heart. Your heart is a very powerful thing. Your heart can only take so much before it gets hard. If you allow guilt to override you then your heart will ultimately harden. Once that happens unless a miracle happens, it is tough to come out of that. A hardened heart changes everything.
Maybe you decided that you are going to cheat on your spouse. You have been getting closer to someone from work and you know there is a connection. Right now you can return but one night after you had dinner with this person you decide to go to bed with them. Again, this is NOT a mistake but a choice that you made. One that is a point of no return. Once you have crossed that line, you can’t take that back.
Up until that point you could have walked away anytime but you allowed your emotions to guide your actions. Your emotions will lie to you. They will deceive you. They will take you to places you never intended to go and keep you there longer than you wanted to stay. Your emotions can be your best friend or your worst nightmare.
So how do you keep your emotions in check? By staying in the Word daily. By staying with God everyday you start to become more stable and not controlled by your emotions. Yes our emotions are good but they are like a fire. You can light a fire to warm in the winter but if you let that fire get out of control you can destroy everything including you. So the key is keeping our emotions in check.
Every decision we make leads us to the next decision. Some good and some bad and a lot of times good decisions change who we are too. Think about this, you are 50 and never went to college so you decide to go back to school and by the time you are 55 you have that degree. Well that has changed who you are as a person for the better.
So being changed as a person doesn’t have to be a bad thing but in most cases the bad big decisions that alter our lives will also alter who we are as a person. There is no getting around this. Before making any life-altering decision, you should make it after you have given much consideration to it.
Never make a life-altering decision in the low tide of your life. It will almost always be a bad decision. You will go from a bad situation to a worse situation. It is like a cycle that never ends. You have to stop this cycle by making a quality decision before you go down this road. If you are already on this road then it’s time to make a quality decision from this point to turn things around.
You may not be able to change the outcome of things since you already crossed the line but you can redeem yourself back to the best of your ability with God.
Ask God to help you make the right decisions from this point no matter how big or small. Ask him to give you the wisdom to know when you are going in the wrong direction. Ask him to give you the courage to change directions when you realize you are going the wrong way. Ask him to heal your heart from your bad choices so that it doesn’t become hardened.
Be Inspired or Be Left Behind!
Chris Benton