“Nothing harms or destroys us but the wrong use of that liberty of choice which God has entrusted to us.” – William Law
“You better count to ten…”
I couldn’t help but snap a picture of this bumper sticker while stopped at a traffic light on my way to work. Hilarious. Still makes me chuckle every time I think about it. Although I found it very funny, it didn’t take me too long to start thinking about the continuous conflict of choices…fought throughout life on the battlefield of our free will. What an incredible liberty and responsibility entrusted to us.
“You better count to ten…” If you’re a parent, I’ll bet you’ve invoked this wise rule of thumb more than a few times with your kids, especially when they were about to burst with anger or defiance. The hope being, as they counted, they’d throttle down and respond to their impulses thoughtfully, choosing in those crucial seconds to replace bad thoughts and choices with wise and good ones.
Ultimately, as they grow older, what we want our kids to learn in those teachable moments is that good choices are just as possible as bad ones – even in the span of ten seconds. Isn’t it our hope that they’ll eventually develop a life-long motivation to favor good choices, especially in those frequent and unexpected “pop-up” situations arousing raw emotion? But, of course this familiar idiom is not just for kids!
“I better count to ten…” Have you recently found yourself in one of those count-to-ten moments? If you really think about it, many will likely come to mind – in just the last 24 hours – right? Of all the choices we’re required to make on a daily basis, those ten-second ones are so critical because they rely on immediate decision-making. No wonder a healthy mindset, built upon long established thought patterns, is so important.
Not too long after I spotted that bumper sticker on my drive, it felt like the Spirit of Christ questioned me.
“Joseph, what are you doing with the liberty I’ve entrusted to you in those ten seconds? How are you handling those tests? What’s going on in your inner life in those moments?”
The inner life of choices
“subconscious brain activity prepares a thought just milliseconds before you’re consciously aware of it, often arising from past memories and external triggers…” (A.I. query result)
Here’s the neuro-process: event > subconscious memory/trigger > subconscious thought ….. conscious thought > conscious choice
Seconds really do count. When a challenging event unexpectedly pops up in your life today, a subconscious thought has already sparked a response, neurologically speaking, before you even realize it.
While people with no faith in God will make these choices largely on basic human nature – purely intellectual processing – if you’re a follower of Christ, the process should be different. The human spirit made alive in Christ is intended to intervene with spiritual processing…
event > subconscious memory/trigger > subconscious thought ….. conscious thought > intervening Truth in the spirit > conscious choice
What will you do with your next ten-second moment, your crucial test on the battlefield of free will? Will that subconscious spark become a destructive flame of your flesh, or a bright light, illuminating the Spirit of Christ in you?
Though neuroscience identified this inner working of our brains centuries after Biblical times, scripture gives us real world examples of some of these moments in the lives of people that lived faithful lives even while sometimes making poor choices in critical seconds.
Ten seconds for Joseph & Peter
A man named Joseph, from one of the most prominent families in the Old Testament, held an important role in an Egyptian household. One day the leading lady in that home, knowing Joseph well, and in fact attracted to him, made a hasty sexual advance on the unsuspecting employee while the two were alone…
Time to count to ten. We’ll soon see if Joseph passed the test.
Next is Peter, another familiar Bible name. One of the most dramatic episodes recorded in all of the New Testament was the night of Jesus’ final arrest before his trial and crucifixion. With blazing torches and weapons, a contingent of Roman soldiers found their target – Jesus – with His closest followers in an olive grove. These warriors were hell-bent on taking Jesus down. Definitely you could say this was a tense and unexpected event for everyone of them except of course the Christ. Of all those with Jesus, Peter was the kind of guy that didn’t like to back down from confrontation…
Time to count to ten. Did Peter pass the test?
These “ten-second choices” recorded in Scripture for the ages were not optional. In both scenarios, a choice had to be made. They mattered, as your choices and mine matter today. One must always be made. Author Elisabeth Elliot, in her book The Glad Surrender, points out:
“Choices will continually be necessary and — let us not forget — possible. Obedience to God is always possible. It is a deadly error to fall into the notion that when feelings are extremely strong we can do nothing but act on them.”
The power and possibility of choice
Answering my own internal questioning, these spur-of-the-moment choices in the inner workings of my spirit, mind and heart really do matter in the grand scheme of things. I must always see every ten-second occurrence as a test that God is engaging to accomplish His ultimate desire and will for me.
Just as we hope for our own children, our Father wants us to discover that good choices are just as possible as bad ones. His will is that we’ll eventually develop a life-long motivation to always favor good in our choices.
“I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” – Philippians 4:8 (The Message)
I am choosing how I process – or even replace – those loose thoughts sparking from somewhere in my subconscious mind. Yes, every single ten-second choice matters, far beyond today or tomorrow. Right or wrong, each one builds on the one before it.
“Let’s drive this home to your own private world, your secret place. In God’s infinite wisdom and permissive will, you are a free agent. In the depths of your soul, choices are made arising from thoughts. These choices lead to more choices, like the ripples of water on a churning sea. These little ripples of choice repeat and expand like a pattern into rising waves, building into an unstoppable force… a mindset. Over years perhaps, that mindset produces surging swells of intention, and ultimately powerful motivation. With unseen momentum, the ever-expanding ripples of your choices eventually lead to one of two places: either a storm of overwhelming darkness and defeat, or they will lead to a peaceful and glad place, full of light. Over time, you become the product of your choices.” – from www.goodbye2hello.com/the-secret-place/
This is the power and possibility of choice.
Pass or fail?
Did Joseph pass the test?
Joseph passed with flying colors, relying on his faith and the Spirit informing his heart and mind (read Genesis 39:7-12). We can be encouraged that even in those moments when our impulses and temptations rage, there is always a way of escape.
Did Peter pass the test?
Peter sadly fell short in his test, in that intense moment of human rage, acting not in the spirit but in the flesh (read John 18:10-11). The account shows us that God is in those moments as well. He is always there to step into the fray with a steadied grace, and healing power.
Even the very faithful believers in Scripture passed some tests, and fell short on others in heartbreaking moments. Life then and now is a journey of choices on the battlefield of free will. The hope of heaven is that you and I will learn to die daily, to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ, that we may mature into the abundant eternal life here and now, to live in the power and possibility available to us.
The ten-second tests we pass, all glory to God! We’re growing in Christ, transforming thought patterns to ultimately establish Christ-centered motivation. For those tests we fail, glory to Him as well! In our suffering from harmful and destructive choices by the wrong use of our liberty – in our repentance His forgiving and restoring grace is all sufficient.
“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it…fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.” – from Paul’s personal letters to the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 10:13 and 2 Corinthians 10, The Message)
