Why Did You Do That?

Why did you do that? I’m not referring to the things we do on reflex such as cracking our neck (which I do when I’m tired), but moments in life where we need to make a deliberate decision on a course of action.

In the past when I applied for a job, my friends told me to put both what I excelled at as well as what I only knew a fraction of on my resume. It’s called “selling yourself”, and as the saying goes, one should not “sell themselves short” because it is a “dog-eat-dog” world out there. The one who impresses the most gets a place at the table, in this case, a job.

At that time, I didn’t think much of it. At the back of my mind, I thought: get the job first and then work out later how to learn what I was lacking on the job. I was hired eventually, but it proved much harder than I thought it would be, having to learn from others what I did not know and getting harshly scolded through the learning process. It made me wonder if it would have been better if I had just stated what I truly knew in the first place.

So why do we do such things when we know them to be wrong? Don’t the consequences deter us from doing them?

Perhaps, it is because we are blinded by our own desires and selfishness. Or it may be due to our need to glorify ourselves, which leads us to ignore the fact that our action might cause harm not only to ourselves but also to those closest to us.

So, how can we choose to do the right? As a start, we must be aware of our own actions and then determine in our hearts to follow the Lord’s ways.

Paul wrote in Roman 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Living in this world of fast paced information, in-your-face half-truths, temptations, and worldly ideals that are being regurgitated on a daily basis, Paul’s instruction is easier said than done. We often find ourselves just accepting what the majority is doing. We think, “If we can’t beat them, we join them.”

Yet as Christian, we are not of the same “feather” as the world. God has given us renewed minds so that we can discern what His will is and make decisions in line with it. Reflecting on my past deeds, I question my motives then. God’s will was definitely not in my mind when I made those decisions. But thankfully, it is not too late to turn around and do the right. I hope that this will encourage you to ask the same question as I did:

What is my motive for doing the things I’m doing or have done in my life?

Photo credit: <a href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/victorianevland/12505301425/”>Victoria Nevland</a> / <a href=”http://foter.com”>Foter</a> / <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)</a>