Choices

I've been thinking a lot lately about the choices people make in their lives to get them where they are. Which then leads to me evaluating the choices that I make and why I make them. For some reason whenever I hear a depressing story about a person's circumstance I instantly think if that is avoidable. I'll give you an example.

My wife and I are scummy landlords for a duplex. About every 2 months one of our tenants has a story about why the rent will be late that month. She and her husband are always able to catch up their rent, even with paying late fees. I can't even guess how much money has been paid in late fees the last couple years. Each time, it's a new story and all the stories end up with a "reason" on why we aren't getting the rent money. And each time I wonder, "What choices are they making in their lives to have this happen?"

Everyone has hard times in their lives, and some more than others. To have hard times every other month makes me think that it can be avoided . . . if only they knew how to avoid these problems. I also wonder if someone with great knowledge and great influence would mentor these tenants and show them step-by-step how to have control over their money, if they would change. If I was a betting man, I would say "no". They would probably be the same and make the same choices.

This morning at church Brandon mentioned a verse in James saying, "Draw close to God and he will draw close to you." Which is also similar to the saying of, "If you will change, everything will change around you." Which goes right along with "What you sow, you will reap." If I can assume that these similar statements are all true . . . then I can also assume that they are true for ME . . . then the next step is to assume that they would be true for EVERYBODY. And if they are true for everybody, then it would be safe to assume that it's applicable ALL the time.

Wow! Hard to wrap my head around all that. So if my relationship with God is weak, it's because I'm not taking the initiative to draw close. If my circumstances suck, I need to change me. And if I'm not reaping large harvests in life, it's because I am sowing poor quality seed.

This is all a lot to worry about, so I guess I will keep thinking about my choices. And making sure that my choices line up with these truths. Because the payoff for all these truths has got to be huge!