If you had the power to enact just one law. What would it be?
I thought about all kinds of noble answers to this question like, everyone should love each other, everyone should forgive each other, blah, blah, blah.
While all this would be great, I’m not that naive. It just isn’t going to happen. Not in this world. But then I thought, maybe there’s a way to accomplish love and forgiveness through the back door.
So for me, I’d love to make it a law that everyone should really “think” before opening their mouths, before making decisions.
I become more convinced every day that many people don’t even know how to think. They “think” they do (good pun, huh?). But good thinking requires putting aside one’s preconceived ideas, and do one’s own thinking.
I love this verse:
Proverbs 14:15
The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.
We are bombarded with so many words, via texts, tweets, e-mails, twenty-four-hour news, that we sometimes assume we’ve thought something through when all we’ve really done is absorb other people’s thoughts. We vote based on what we’ve heard not what we’ve ourselves have thought. We simply regurgitate. We’re lazy thinkers.
It’s easier than thinking for yourself.
I don’t think anyone would disagree with me that the lack of analytical, quality thinking is behind the dumb mistakes we see friends and families make. Not to mention our own screw-ups. Wouldn’t you agree that your biggest mistakes have come because you really didn’t think things through?
Thinking is a skill. It needs to be rehearsed and practiced just like any other skill.
So why don’t we? Probably because we think we already know how. I mean we’ve been making decisions all our lives, right? But if we look at our past decisions, I’ll bet there are a few we regret. Remember, I told you last week I’ve been cleaning out a lot of “stuff” and more than a few times, I’ve said, “What was I thinking?.
I wasn’t. I bought something just because it was “cute” or “the latest style”, not because it’s what I really wanted.
I’m all for intuition and think there are certain circumstances we can trust our intuition and even we should trust our intuition (instincts) before we trust our thinking. For example, If an irate driver seems threatening, we don’t have to stop and think. We should put distance between our car and theirs immediately.
Many tomes have been written on how to think. John Maxwell and M. Scott Peck have authored some excellent books on this subject.
The best place to begin though, is simply to ask yourself this question anytime you proffer an opinion, “Is this what I really think? Or am I just mouthing what I’ve heard others say?”
So my universal law would be, “Just think.”
And with the elections just a week away, we really need to think. I’m an independent. I lean conservative on some issues and liberal on others. I think about my beliefs and based on that, I vote for those persons who most closely align with that.
Do I always get it right?
I don’t know. But I have peace of mind because I know I’ve thought it through and prayed it through. That gives me peace of mind.
How about you? If you good enact a law, what would it be? It can be silly, serious, whatever. I’d love to know. I mean I have a lot of silly ones as well. LIke, there should be a law against gum chewing in public.
God bless and have a good day.
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