Okay, here's an admission most would never make. A few days ago, while handling my pellet rifle I grabbed it wrong and accidentally pulled the trigger when it was pointed at my foot! Yes, it was loaded! Yes, I shot myself in the foot!
Fortunately, I was wearing a shoe so the damage was only on the surface-- and a little below the surface; but not significant.
That was painful! And embarrassing! Even more embarrassing because I'm being so public about it!
I got to thinking, however, that this is the way many of us conduct various aspects of our lives. Without believing anything will ever go wrong and expose our foolishness, we:
- Don't back up our data,
- Drive on bald tires,
- Work on running car engines,
- Fix live electrical connections,
- Sneak into places or actions that could ruin us,
- Pilfer just a little at work, and more.
The problem is that those life-on-the-edge actions and attitudes almost always catch up with us. And when they do we're so embarrassed. And sometimes our life is wrecked with, at best, a long road of recovery.
In a book I recently read,
The Principle of the Path, Andy Stanley does a great job of putting into perspective the principle that
direction-- not intention-- determines our destination. It doesn't matter that we never intended to be known for a particular failure. When caught and the facts come to light, observers often say, "What was he thinking! Of course those actions would lead to that!"
I encourage you to consider what poor decisions you might be making, and the path they're taking you down. I have some in my life that I'm battling, and knowing that deciding to go in a different direction when tempted is all that's necessary is very helpful.
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