If ‘old me’ could go back in
time and talk with ‘young me’, one of the main topics addressed would be not to
base my decisions by my emotions. Some of the biggest mistakes in life, I’ve
made, were created by how I felt at the moment. Without using discernment and
looking at the obvious end results, I began a many failed pursuit. Some people
believe that experience is a good teacher; however, looking at the world’s current
affairs and society’s repeated offenses; I would strongly argue with this
school of thought.In most cases, deciding not to
act on your initial emotions leads to a better outcome. Unfortunately, this is
slowly becoming a lost art. The discipline and will power needed to forgo an immediate
response is becoming extinct. This principle is needed to attain a sustainable
quality of life.
One of my biggest struggles
as a young adult was spending money (that I didn’t have). In 1998, there was a
rap artist by the name of Silkk The Shocker. He released an album entitled ‘Charge
It 2 da Game’. This became my slogan when I used my credit card to purchase
something that I needed to maintain an image, ‘Charge it to the game!’ Without
going into great detail of this end result, anyone who owns a credit card knows
how this story can and will conclude. Luckily for me, I had an epiphany and
became really good friends with a Dave
Ramsey fanatic, who encouraged me to pay off and stay out of debt. Is this
emotionally, mentally, or socially easy to do? Absolutely not, but all people
in high amounts of debt know, that living debt free truly gives one peace of
mind and
freedom to thoroughly enjoy life. So why aren’t more people making a
decision to stay clear from relationship destroying debt? Consider their
emotions.
Bad financial decisions are
only one example of the ‘shoot from the hip’ emotional response. Proverbs 29:11
states ‘A fool expresses
all his emotions, but a wise person controls them’ (God’s Word Translation). This
is such a valuable amount of wisdom wrapped up in one sentence. Take heed. Think
about the consequences of your emotional decisions. Even when you thoroughly process
and ‘marinate’ on deciding; allow yourself to be challenged. What are the
qualifications of your advisers? Do they have a track record of on-going success
in the areas that you ponder? Remember
this, God covers it all. Challenge him in your decision making to give you an
answer. Instead of picking up the phone, ‘drop to your knees’. Connect with Him
through Jesus Christ, so you can petition
with boldness as a righteous child of God.
If you desire to accept Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Savior, please click on the link below.
