"If only" and its companion in crime "what if" are the two most useless phrases in the English language. They are surrounded by and imprisoned by fear and inaction.
They suck the life out of history-making decisions. They delay lives and founder in depression. These cowardly phrases bring the demise of dreams and churches, of theories and ideas, of marriages and economics.
Jesus and Paul , as far as we know, were never men to say "If only I had...." Yes, Paul regretted his early life of perscuting Christ and His followers, but he did not use these regrets as a basis for folding up his tent and sitting out the rest of his life. Jesus strode into risky situations with authority and fervor. True, unpopularity with the religious leaders brought about his death. But none of the gospels record his saying, "What if I apologize...." In the garden he did ask for the removal of "the cup" that faced him, but he gave his heart to God's will even there.
Often as I have gathered with Christians and church leaders, I hear, "what ifs" and "if onlys": "If only the economy were better.... " "What if (a wealthy donor) leaves when we do this?" By the way, I have never heard this at Otter Creek! I have heard some Christians say, "If only I were wealthy, I would be able to give more." "What if I do this or that.... I may lose my salvation."
More later....from a person who does not believe in what ifs and if onlys.
No comments:
Post a Comment