From The Pastor’s Pen – By Brian Horrobin
I read a terrific quote recently from retired Colorado Rockies baseball manager, Clint Hurdle.
He was just jotting down his thoughts about a few things and this one jumped out at me: “You can either be judged because you created something or ignored because you left your greatness inside of you. Your call.”
It occurred to me that both action and inaction involve taking a risk.
There is definitely a sense of comfort for us when we have all our ducks lined up in a row and a straight path lies in front of us.
The problem is much of life does not unfold in that manner.
The apostle Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
For the follower of Christ, this type of decision involves trusting God with both the details that are not clear and the consequences of acting on it.
You cannot please everyone.
Regardless of the choice you make, someone somewhere is going to be opposed to it.
Can you live with that if it is something that is according to your convictions?
I do not drink alcohol, which is a choice I made over 35 years ago to honour the preferences of the woman I was going to marry and her family.
I have never regretted that decision, even though I am around many people who do enjoy a casual drink.
I do not ask them if it is okay for me to refrain, nor do I ask them to refrain on my behalf.
My wife and I chose not to have alcohol at our wedding and many guests, including some family, were offended.
We did choose to have dancing, however, and managed to tick off a bunch of the non-drinking crowd!
You just can’t win sometimes!
The important thing, for me anyway, is to pray and ask the Lord for guidance.
Once I have done that then I can proceed and trust Him with the consequences.
