When a mistake becomes a choice

How many of us, if given the opportunity to go back in time would change just one decision you had made? I’m sure all of us.

Here’s a question for the wives. How many believe your husband is perfect? Never made a mistake, and always made the right decision? During my homily, not one wife raised their hand, although there were a few husbands coaxing their wife.

And during my homily, I prefaced this to the husbands with, this, men is your opportunity to shine, “how many believe your wife is perfect, always makes the right decision? Never made a mistake? Many hands instantly went high in the air.

Ah! But there is hope! Mark Twain said, "Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions."

Life is a matter of decisions, good and bad, right and wrong. Either, I care or I don’t care about the consequences.

It’s been said that you never make the same mistake twice. the second time you make it, it is no longer a mistake. it is a choice.

So, the choice is ours. Just think, the many choices you and I have made in this life, and it is those choices that have pretty much sculpt us to whom we are today. Some good and some not so good choices.

For many it is those very choices, that nurtured us, improved our physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Sacrifices were made, perseverance prevailed and goals were pictured in our minds and through hard work were achieved.

But for others, not so much, they chose not to make those same good choices, and many regret those decisions today.

St. Jerome one of the greatest doctors of the Church is known for many quotes.

But the one that should leave the biggest impression, the quote that should really penetrate our heart is, “Begin now to be what you will be hereafter.”

Our first reading today from Sirach is a collection of proverbial and yet, powerful teachings. Full of wisdom for those who listen, because it provides a fundamental order in creation and life.

But what it does not do is force us, or presume that we are destined to live by this order of life. It is the clearest statement ever written on the subject of human free will, on the choices we make.

This reading is a soul-searching experience, one we should take and reflect on in our own heart.

It is full of choices, set at their extremes; fire and water, life and death, good and evil, a total picture, that includes everything in between.

 Ultimately, it is telling us that what is before us is destruction and salvation, evil and what is good. These are the decisions we make, they are the path we will take. These are the choices leading us to Heaven or hell

God never told anyone to be godless. He never gave anyone a license to sin. No, but he does demand obedience, love and goodness.

Choosing God’s will is a choice only we can make, and it is the most important choice we will ever make.  It is the decision where we begin to be what we hope to be in the life hereafter.

And Jesus has told us so many times in the Gospels to be careful of what we say, what we see, how we use our body. These too, are decisions we make, decisions with consequences, and or rewards.

That is why it is so important to stay focused on God, and that if anything gets in the way of that focus to discard it.

Today we hear a warning. Jesus is warning us to take every precaution, and if necessary, drastic means against falling into sin, and away from him.

It is a warning that must be taking seriously, for he has told us that many are invited but only a few are chosen. 

Consequences for sin can be harsh. The punishment can be severe, to a place referred to as Gehenna. It is a hell.

We know that in the time of Christ, Gehenna was a valley just outside the city of Jerusalem where the early Canaanites once offered human sacrifices, their own children, no less

And then the Israelites turned this sacrilegious site into a garbage heap where rotten waste was constantly being burned. And, yes there was unbearable stench, a reminder of what hell is like, pain and suffering with no end.

You are either for me or against me, Jesus said. It is our choice. To be “For him” means heaven; against him means Gehenna, an endless stench. As St. James tells us “It will devour your flesh like a fire”.

Many of us know, that the longer we live the more choices seem to present themselves, and are opened up for us. And it is these choices we make that become our compass in life.

Yes, circumstances can impact our life and the decisions we make, but God has given us the graces to still make choices on how we will deal with them.Life is a God given gift, and with that gift comes another gift, our free will, what and how we choose to live.

Although a gift, Life is fluid, going this way and that way, a mind of its own. But we must be flexible adapting, changing our course with good choices when necessary.

It is that true wisdom from the Holy Spirit will provide us the insight, the guidance, and the perseverance to conduct our lives in accordance with God’s will, and in ways we never thought possible.

It’s how we live our lives that determine if we are for him who created us, or against him, who still created us. "Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God am holy."

That in itself should be our focus; the object of all our desires, our efforts, our decisions. We have a choice. Today Picture in your mind, your final goal, a vivid picture, aim to achieve it in this life and “Begin now to be what you will be hereafter.” You’ll be glad you did!