You’ve made bad decisions, right? Some of them were really bad, resulting in things you’re embarrassed about, stuff you won’t share with anyone who doesn’t already know.
Welcome to normal. It must be written in our DNA. Decision-making is a complex process, of course, and unfortunately, we can’t will ourselves into always making the right decisions. But here’s a good place to start:
When the Lord revealed himself to John near the end of the apostle’s life, he said:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega . . . who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).
Those are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, so when Jesus says he’s the “Alpha,” he’s speaking of his eternality; he doesn’t have a beginning . . . he is the beginning. He’s the Creator, not the created.
But there’s something here for us beyond our conviction that Jesus is the Eternal God. If he is “the” Alpha, then he ought to be “my” Alpha. That means he ought to be my starting point for everything I do, every decision I make. When I look back at the foolish things I’ve done, there’s a common thread: he wasn’t my Alpha when I did what I did.
Can you relate?
We all have something on the altar of our hearts, and whatever that is influences everything, from whom we choose to marry to which job we accept to the clothes we put on.
Many things vie for that center spot, but the most common winner is Self. In fact, self-worship is usually responsible for those bad, life-altering decisions we make.
Look back at some of the things you wish you hadn’t done. He wasn’t your Alpha, was he? Chances are, at that moment, you had taken him down and put something else there. We can’t do anything about what’s already happened, but we can look ahead.
There’s no guarantee we’ll always make the best decision, but the place to start is by giving the Lord his rightful place in our hearts. Make him your Alpha, and often the other stuff will fall into place.
—Chuck
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