Think!

9 Jan

“Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week.”  ~ George Bernard Shaw

I hope I am not the only one.  Are there not times when you want to grab someone, look them in the eyes, thump them upside the head, and say “THINK?!”  Thinking seems to be underrated and underused by too many people.

Think about it.  How many times have you seen someone make incredibly stupid mistakes all because they did not think about things ahead of time?  Instead, they blindly leapt into a situation and made things worse instead of better.

Thinking requires several steps.  We have to have a desired outcome.  We have to know the “cost” of what we are doing whether it be monetary, physical, or emotional.  We have to know what the possibility of a desired outcome will be.  After all, some people have engaged in things not knowing at the outset that what they were attempting was impossible.

I remember when I was ordained.  My first assignment was as a full time associate at St. John Bosco Church and a full time instructor at Bishop Noll Institute.  During my second year, “thinking” was all the craze.  The administration introduced a new curriculum that concentrated on “critical thinking”.  I thought to myself, “Has no one ever thought before this?”  When thinking becomes a craze rather than a reality, something is wrong.

I believe there are probably many times when God would like to grab us, look into our eyes, thump us upside the head, and say “THINK!”  Too often we fail to think about what He has done for us.  Too often we fail to think about the consequences of our sin.  Too often we fail to think about the graces that He offers us to reject temptation.  Too often we fail to think about Him.

When we quit thinking about God and His love for us, we are in grave danger.  We are at risk of turning to something else.  Anything other than God, though, will lead us astray and, ultimately, to our destruction.

Think about it.  Do you want to live with God forever in heaven or not?  Think.

FAITH ACTION:  Instead of doing spiritual exercise in rote, intentionally think about your relationship with God and invite Him to take a fuller place in your heart and life.