Wise Choices

One of the worst things about our culture and the current generation we are living in is that we’ve made it okay for young and old alike to shirk responsibility. It is a practice that will have lasting, devastating consequences, the depths of which we’ve just begun to see in society.

It used to be men had to assume responsibility for themselves. Otherwise, they would perish. If you didn’t forage for food, build a homestead, farm your land, defend what was yours, find a wife, have children, and raise them well, you’d likely die off, having met your end at the hand of marauders, the elements, or wild animals.

You cannot look back on life with a sense of accomplishment if all you leave behind is a houseful of trinkets and precious moments dolls. You cannot hope to have a good end if every choice you make toward that end is the wrong choice, the selfish choice, the choice that puts you and your comfort, and your wants above everyone else.

We are living in a hedonistic, self-obsessed generation, and this is largely the reason why more people than ever are unhappy, joyless, and altogether dejected even with the overabundance they take for granted daily.

Like most things in life, gratitude is a choice. Being thankful, being grateful, being appreciative, and content are choices we make based on how we perceive not only ourselves but the world around us. If we fail to define what blessing is, gratitude will be hard to come by. Being blessed is not about having things. Being blessed is about more than amassing possessions, the zip code one lives in, or the number of zeroes in their bank account.

Being blessed is not a private jet; it is a loving family. Being blessed is not a private island; it is healthy, happy children. Being blessed is not your name up in lights; it is sitting around the dinner table by candlelight, looking across the faces of those whom God has entrusted into your care, and realizing you have far more than you deserve in life.

True blessing is not quantifiable by the world’s standards because true blessing comes from God, and only through the prism of the spiritual can the blessings that proceed from His hand be quantified.

True blessing is something that the world cannot give, and money cannot buy, and it’s those things we should be exceedingly thankful for.  

Rather than feverishly map out a route for where we can buy the cheapest cheaply made cheap stuff that we don’t need in the first place, perhaps our time might be better served by taking a moment and acknowledging the goodness of the Lord in our lives, acknowledging His many blessings, and thanking Him for them.

Every one of us, no matter our circumstance or lot in life has something to be thankful for. Every one of us knows of something in our lives that came from the hand of God. Every one of us can identify untold blessings in our lives if we choose to because thankfulness and gratitude are choices we can make not just once a year while suffering from the turkey sweats, but every day without fail. 

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr.