Choose Life!

"Look at my eyes... LOOK at my eyes... LOOK AT MY EYES!!!" Upon getting my 4 year old son's attention, I continued with my instruction to him: "OK, you have an important choice to make right now--you can either choose to have a good attitude and a happy heart about having to go to bed...OR you can..."

Ah, yes--isn't it wonderful when you don't have to finish the sentence?! Before I completed my thought, my son gave me a wide-toothed grin and made his way to the bathroom so we could brush those teeth. Then, it was off to bed: lights out, tucked in all comfy-cozy, prayers said, hugs given and "night-nights" and "love yous" exchanged.

My son chose well!

What could have ended in some kind of unhappy consequence didn't. I was actually surprised (pleasantly so, of course) by how quickly he changed his attitude. (Thank You, God, that all of the repetition is bearing fruit!) Of course, it's not always that way for him (or me, or any of us!) but tonight marked a significant victory.

Proverbs 12:1 says that the person who refuses to follow instruction or correction is...STUPID! (Ouch--that kind of hurts!) That is no light statement. It's also not meant to be a judgmental or unkind statement, either. The word ("stupid") implies a brutish (savage, insensitive, unreasonable) person. Such a person is unreceptive to the very things that are intended to bring them life. Proverbs 10:17 says that the person who does follow instruction is on the path of life, while the person who rejects it is lead astray.

Why is it so hard to receive correction? There are of course many of answers to this question-- not least of which is the likelihood that we think we're right and the other person is wrong. As hard as it can be, receiving the correction is just the first half; following the instruction given is the second. When you and I get corrected or instructed about something we've done, didn't do, or could be doing, we suddenly come face to face with a very important decision. Will we resist the uncomfortable and-at-least-for-the-moment undesirable, OR...will we allow ourselves to be moved out of our comfort zones and embrace the adjustments being offered to us?

The Old Testament puts it this way: we always have life and death in front of us--a blessing and a curse. The Lord always instructs us to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19). Receiving correction and following instruction is a means to life as God intends for it to be.

I've recently been corrected about some pretty significant things. Some had to do with specific well-intended-but-still-not-that-great decisions I made. Others had to do with more general points of instruction God is still giving me about how I'm carrying--or, owning--my responsibilities as a pastor at this church, and as a leader of God's people. In all of these I experienced a sense of conviction (the good kind that leads to repentance and real life-change!); and in all of them I experienced some measure of temptation to defend myself, beat myself up, and shrug off the words being spoken to me. Again I found myself in that familiar place--face to face with a decision to make.

It's amazing how hard it is to make a good decision when all I'm thinking about is me, myself, and I--instead of God and me. You'll notice that the unholy trinity of me, me and more me doesn't leave a lot of room for the One who holds the keys to life. I don't know if being corrected and following instruction will ever be "easy." What I do know is that each time I chose to receive and respond I save myself and others a lot of grief. More important even than that, something has been added to me that makes me a better husband, father and pastor--and an altogether safer place for others.

I'm corrected because He loves me that much. Let's be a people who chose life.