A question to ask yourself when making decisions

In her book Inner Compass (a great book about discerning God's will for your own life), Margaret Silf includes this devotional thought:
Recall a decision you made recently. Can you identify your reason for deciding as you did? Did you decide in the hope of gaining something, in the fear of losing something, or out of a state of inner freedom?
If we are making decisions out of a desire to gain something or a fear of losing something, we might as well be locked up in a dungeon cell. We are trapped in a cycle of wanting to take from the world in order to satisfy our desires or sooth our fears.


If we are coming from a place of being able to give ourselves away without demanding to receive something in return, then we are in a state of freedom. That's like stretching out our arms in an open field.


I invite you to ask this question when you are making decisions. Are you approaching people and situations driven by the desire to take and possess them so you can fulfill your desires or sooth your fears? Or are you approaching people and situations from a peaceful place of giving yourself to them without expecting something in return? If we want to make decisions as disciples of Jesus, his way is the latter.

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