The Importance of Your Decisions
BIBLICAL POINT OF REFERENCE:
“And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
~1 John 5:14
Have you ever wondered why God gives us the ability to make our own decisions? We always talk about how God doesn’t want us to be like puppets on strings, but why?
I won’t get all philosophical here, but I’ve always thought that God gives us so much freedom because He knows it’s better for us to accept Him through our own free will, rather than be forced to accept Him. No one likes it when they feel pressured to like someone based on power, money, time, etc. It’s like when you were a teenager and your parents told you not to do stupid stuff, like sneak out to go have fun with friends or miss class or something like that. The very reason you wanted to do those things is because someone told you not to! Comparatively, so much of the world today chooses not to have faith in the Lord because they believe His Way is restricting, calculated, and doesn’t feel good.
If you’re a practicing Catholic, you likely know and see how freeing God’s Love is, but I bet you didn’t come to that conclusion immediately. You were probably pressured, tested, and challenged constantly by worldly desires that eventually led you to see why trusting God is the one choice you do want to make. But no one could be outright and tell you that because we like to listen to ourselves first. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.
But even if you are a practicing Catholic, there’s still more to deal with. For example, just because God allows us to make our own choices doesn’t mean we always make the right ones. We go around saying things like, “It’s my life! I can do what I want!” While that’s technically true, make sure to think about how you came to live on this earth (get your heads out of the gutter, please). The truth is, you have the life you have because God made you and knows you. And when we take Him out of the picture, we’re basically telling Him that He didn’t have a part in our creation—which is false. Yet, He still wants us to choose for ourselves, because Love doesn’t force itself on other people. Love is a choice. And it doesn’t matter if you’re Catholic or not—same ideas apply.
I’ll end on a quick reflection: Being able to make our own choices is the reason growing up is so important. I don’t know if I would have ever grown closer to God if my parents or friends or anyone had tried to force me into it. Sure, I got lost a little along the way through some of my choices. But I’m here now, trusting in God and asking Him to guide me in my decisions.
I’m glad I was allowed to grow up, and I’m glad I had the resources and people around me to silently help me out as I discovered how Catholicism, and being a daughter of Christ, can be so freeing. Hopefully that means my life choices will get better....
Your Laughing Sister,
Callahan
