Decisions

Every hour, every day, each of us is called upon to make many decisions. Some of them may involve nothing more than a choice between two neckties. But some of them are far-reaching and fundamental, such as a choice between taking or not taking something we shouldn’t, or a choice between accepting or rejecting something false or true, or deciding on some opportunity or opening that would alter the course of a whole career. Such decisions can be critical, with far-reaching consequences, and the subjects suggests these words from Shakespeare: “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in misery.” Fortunate are those who recognize this tide and take it. The decision to do just once something that we shouldn’t do at all may cause us to miss the tide that would lead on to fortune — perhaps material good fortune, or perhaps, more important, the good fortune of peace of mind and happiness and a quiet conscience. The decision to take some quick gain, but to pay too big a price in giving up long-range preparation may be another cause of missing the tide which would have led on to achievement. The decision to accept truth regardless of comfort or convenience or previous prejudice is another choice that men must make. Many who have had a conviction of truth, but who have not been willing to pay the price, have found that the tide has gone on without them, and all the voyage of their lives has been “bound in shallows.” O may God grant us the discernment to see the difference between decisions that matter little and those that matter much, and to see that the decisions we make are free from prejudice or compromising principles, and that every choice of our lives may leave us with a quiet conscience and personal peace.