Henry Ford was famous for saying that you could have a Ford Model A in whatever color you wanted – as long as it was black. We’ve sure come a long way since then. You can decide on the exterior color, the interior color, trim, not to mention all the optional features! This is true in every arena in life. Have you bought milk lately (soy, almond, cashew, skim, 1%, 2% whole, etc.)? Ordered a beverage at Starbucks? We make an amazing amount of decisions every day.
A Columbia researcher found that the average person makes about 70 decisions every day. That’s 25,500 decisions a year. Over 70 years, that’s 1,788,500 decisions. If, as the 20th century philosopher, Albert Camus, said, “Life is a sum of all your choices,” then when you put all those decisions together – that’s who you are.
The sum of all our decisions defines us; and yet we make the majority of them without even thinking. How is that remotely possible? It’s conceivable because each of those decisions is a reflection of what we already think and believe. For example, if I’m a vegetarian, I don’t even consider the hamburgers on the menu. I’ve already made the big choice. This eliminates many of the options, thus making the remaining choices more simple.
In his book The Gospel of Yes, Mike Glenn points out that discovering the person whom Christ created you to be and the purpose for which you were created frees you from the paralysis of having to make decisions repeatedly. In it he writes: “Your choices are actually boiled down to two questions. First, does this action/opportunity reflect who I am in Christ? Second, does this action/opportunity bring me closer to the purposes for which I was created?
“The main reason many of us are stuck is that we never have taken the time to figure out who we are and determine where we’re going. As a Christ-follower, I believe we know ourselves best in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because He is the One who created us, He is the One who knows us best. In getting to know Christ, we come to know ourselves. This liberates us to lives as our authentic selves, free from the false freedom of choices that distract us from a life of meaning and purpose.”
Yet it is in Him that God gives a full and complete expression of Himself. Moreover, your own completeness is only realized in Him, who is the authority over all authorities, and the supreme power over all powers.
~Colossians 2:9-10 (J.B. Phillips)
Let’s focus on our choices this week. Do they reflect who we are in Christ?
Growing in Christ together...
A Columbia researcher found that the average person makes about 70 decisions every day. That’s 25,500 decisions a year. Over 70 years, that’s 1,788,500 decisions. If, as the 20th century philosopher, Albert Camus, said, “Life is a sum of all your choices,” then when you put all those decisions together – that’s who you are.
The sum of all our decisions defines us; and yet we make the majority of them without even thinking. How is that remotely possible? It’s conceivable because each of those decisions is a reflection of what we already think and believe. For example, if I’m a vegetarian, I don’t even consider the hamburgers on the menu. I’ve already made the big choice. This eliminates many of the options, thus making the remaining choices more simple.
In his book The Gospel of Yes, Mike Glenn points out that discovering the person whom Christ created you to be and the purpose for which you were created frees you from the paralysis of having to make decisions repeatedly. In it he writes: “Your choices are actually boiled down to two questions. First, does this action/opportunity reflect who I am in Christ? Second, does this action/opportunity bring me closer to the purposes for which I was created?
“The main reason many of us are stuck is that we never have taken the time to figure out who we are and determine where we’re going. As a Christ-follower, I believe we know ourselves best in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because He is the One who created us, He is the One who knows us best. In getting to know Christ, we come to know ourselves. This liberates us to lives as our authentic selves, free from the false freedom of choices that distract us from a life of meaning and purpose.”
Yet it is in Him that God gives a full and complete expression of Himself. Moreover, your own completeness is only realized in Him, who is the authority over all authorities, and the supreme power over all powers.
~Colossians 2:9-10 (J.B. Phillips)
Let’s focus on our choices this week. Do they reflect who we are in Christ?
Growing in Christ together...
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