Choices and Consequences
By Bruce Wade
I was thinking the other day, as one does, that life can suck for some and not so much for others. Why is that? I was thinking to myself. This is my conclusion:
Choices and Consequences. Could it be as simple as that? We make almost most of our destiny by our choices, and choices have consequences. Consequences that are either good ones or not-so-good ones. We get to decide.
We choose to cheat, steal, and speed on the roads, and the result, sometimes, is we get caught out or worse we get into an accident and get sprayed all over the highway. I have witnessed two recent accidents where people have made choices to cut through traffic at high speed and end up in bits.
But when things go wrong for us, we love to redirect our guilt and blame others. The Government, Eskom, traffic, rain, mom or any other thing or person we can easily pass blame upon. This rediverts us from having to take any responsibility for our actions and we fail to learn to basic formula for life: Choices and Consequences.
We should all have had this drilled into us better as kids. Maybe it was for me. There were definite lines that if we crossed, we were punished. Today we draw lines, rub them out and discuss life in terms of choices and choices with very few consequences. We re-label people to help them adapt to their chosen lifestyle and allow them to live as carelessly as they care to and then help them pick up all the pieces when they fail again and again.
I am keen to have more discussion on this topic. If you have any insights, inputs, or information that you wish to share, then please do. I am keen to learn.
Good day Bruce, your question has made me think a lot. I have made many choices in my life that have led to both embarrassment and shame. Some of these choices were selfish, while others were selfless.
However, I also wonder about the impact that choices made by others have on my life. Recently, I visited Duncan Village, a location near us, to launch an 11-day “Job Journey” course from Cape Town. Only five young people showed up for the course. These individuals have completed high school but have been unable to find employment for the past year. They did not choose to be born into their circumstances, and their parents may have done the best they could for them. Now, these young people are responsible for their own choices and the consequences that come with them.
It is up to them to decide whether they want to remain stuck in Duncan Village or take steps to improve their lives. They may not realize that the choices they make today will have an impact on their future. I hope they will make the right choices and work towards lifting themselves out of despair. (Aka Jos.24:15)