First Baptist Church of Herndon

You Choose

Linda Soller | Feb 24, 2020

A landlord evicts the tenant. The tenant later explains, he should not have evicted me, so I decided to teach him a lesson. I set the house on fire. The landlord may or may not have been fair, but apparently his actions were legal. The tenant’s choice was clearly illegal, and a perfect example of a bad choice. Both people have to live with the choices they made. Every day, we make choices. Hopefully they are not a matter of life or death, or legal verses illegal. One thing is true. You live with the result of your choices.

I am so tired of the negative roar. He said this, she said that, he “had” to do this, she “had no choice” but to do that. It seems as though many adults never grew up. You choose. You as an individual make a choice as to what you will say, and what you will do. Only rarely do we find ourselves in a situation where the choice is made for us. When it happens, it’s often a matter of survival. Name calling is not a matter of survival. Lying is not a matter of survival. Back biting is not a matter of survival. Those are things you choose to do. When you’re in a position of authority such as a parent, a boss, a teacher, or an elected official you have a duty to choose carefully. Just because I don’t call you lazy, doesn’t mean I can’t have that opinion. The choice involves why I feel the need to say it out loud. Does it make me feel better than you? Does it flaunt my position of authority?

It’s humbling to be a parent or a grandparent because kids don’t miss a trick. You express yourself and you will hear it coming from their little mouths at some point, trust me! It’s not fun to have someone say mean things about you or criticize you. It’s not fun to feel someone else has all the power. But here is where the grown-up part comes in. You can take the high road, be kind, be positive, or maybe just be quiet. You choose.

Be humble, be grateful, and be love in our world this week! :o) Linda