“A double minded (indecisive) man (or woman) is unstable in his (or her) ways.”
We have to make decisions from the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night. Some of those decisions are good and are good for us, but some of those decisions are disastrous. That’s why we need to watch we do in the moments of our lives. Think of David as he lounges on his roof and sees the beautiful Bathsheba. He knows that she is another man’s wife, but at the moment that doesn’t matter. He becomes consumed by the moment and commits adultery with her. His decision to sin on the spur of the moment led to disastrous results for the rest of his life. He went on with life, but it was never the same again. Think of Simon Peter as he brags to Jesus that he will never deny Him. I think that he meant it at the time, but when the moment came that he had to decide whether or not to deny Jesus, at that moment he denied Jesus. Peter went on with his life after that, and lived effectively for Jesus, but that one moment could have ruined his life. I think back over my life and think of the moments that I have acted impulsively and wished that I had not. At one point in my teen years, I decided that I just would not study – and I stayed real true to that moment. I ended up dropping out of high school, and have been playing catch-up ever since. I have graduated four times in my life, from college and seminary, but I do not have a high school diploma. It wasn’t the lack of the diploma that hurt, it was all of the knowledge that I didn’t have when I entered college. The sad thing is that David could not go back and relive that fateful moment; Peter could not go back and relive that fateful moment, nor could I go back and relive that fateful moment. I’m sure that in your own personal story, you could relate some moments that you wish you could relive. Here is the point: We need to watch every moment that we live. Satan and his demons are out there trying to make sure that we yield to our worst impulses at given moments. Unless a person is absolutely morally corrupt, he or she knows right from wrong. When we come to those moments when we have to make decisions that affect the rest of our lives, we need to think of consequences. The Holy Spirit will warn us, but we have to listen to Him. Satan is an expert at making the wrong thing the “right thing.” He encourages us to give in to whatever pleasure might come from the moment. I’m sure by now that you have learned that pleasure is only for a moment. When the moment of sinful pleasure is over, then comes the regret. But you can’t go back and reel it in. This is not just true of our actions; it is also true of our words. How many times have you said something that at that moment seemed clever and cute, only to have it come back and bite you. There have been times in my life when I wished that words had strings attached to them and I could snatch them back. I remember one Sunday morning visiting Sunday School classes. It was a hot summer morning, and energy was hard to come by. I went to the senior adult ladies class, looked in the door and saw them sitting there deflated by the hot summer day. Trying to be my “cute” self and say something “cute,” I brilliantly said: “Good gracious, y’all look like the last rose of summer.” Brilliant! Let us say that it took me a long time to get over that moment. Let me put it this way: you do not want to alienate the older sisters in a church. I didn’t really mean what I said; I just went with the impulse of the moment. Bad idea! Isn’t that usually the case? We need to watch what we do or say, and think of the consequences. Sometimes the consequences are menial, but sometimes they change our lives for the worst. Let’s just decide that we are going to think before acting or speaking. Good idea! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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