Ripples of Consequence

Here I sit in a crowded plane, waiting for take off. What do you do in those moments? I’m never comfortable or relaxed so I do the two things that have the greatest ability to calm me down: I pray and I sing--in my head! While I don’t have a bad voice, I’m not sure those around me would appreciate my hymn selections. Those around me. As I sat there think-singing the verses of I Am Thine and Nearer My God to Thee, a very odd thought popped into my mind. I wonder if Jonah’s on board.

You remember Jonah. God told him to go start a revival in diabolical and dreadful Nineveh and Jonah headed in the exact opposite direction. His disobedience resulted in a horrible storm. The other guys on the boat began to wonder who’s disobedience was angering the gods and therefore to blame for the storm around them, and their possible deaths!

So, I began to wonder who around me was on the outs with God. Then I got one of those God-thumps. You know, the kind where God flips you upside the head with his holy finger to let you know you’ve missed the point “by this much.” Oh, you mean, how has my disobedience affected others? What storms have I caused by walking, living, in the exact opposite direction from where I’ve been called or directed to be? Who have I put in peril because I said no when I should have said yes? Or when I’ve said yes instead of saying no?

Since I made a major mess of my life it’s easier for me to see who my ripples have touched, up close that is. I know this impacted my husband and my children. But I continue to see the ripples as I look at my mom, aunt and uncle, brother and sister. But wait there’s more. There’s daughter’s new boyfriend, his kids and his family. My decision affects them, but creates a new set of ripples for daughter. There seems to be no end to the impact, to my shame, and my brokenness.

This line of thinking takes me in a lot of directions. First, I’m reminded of a little phrase I heard someone use a while back that I know I’ve said a lot. It goes like this: it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission. It reminds me of my two year old grandson who thinks that a kiss makes all wounds better and saying I’m sorry will fix anything he’s done wrong. Lately he’s taken to exaggerating his sorrow in hopes of covering bigger blunders by saying, “I’m so, so sorry.” Are we any different? We act reactively or impulsively minimizing the consequences by figuring we’ll just apologize and that will set all things right. But we forget to consider the ripples. Who else could be impacted by our choice or our decision?

I’m glad the WWJD thing has lost some of its emphasis. I think far too many people asked the question without really understanding what Jesus would. They couldn’t because they really didn’t know Jesus and his radical way of thinking. I’m reminded of the time in John where it says that Jesus “had” to go through Samaria and he ended up meeting the woman at the well. If you get a chance check that one out on the map. Jesus didn’t have to take that route, there were other ways to get to where he was going, ways that would have taken less time and would not have put him in a situation where he would meet up with a woman of questionable repute. If Jesus thought like a businessman or marketing specialist, he definitely would have gone a different way. His “had” was about something far deeper, but you wouldn’t know that if you didn’t understand Jesus.

Jesus had the big picture of God’s love in mind. He was keenly aware that he was to be about his father’s business. I don’t know about you, but I lose sight of that sometimes. And consequently, I lose sight of the consequences, the ripples, of my choices. I hate to admit it, but I’m more like Esau than I ever realized. It’s amazing what I’ll give up when my belly’s growling and that stew smells so good. I get lost in the need or importance of the immediate and in my lostness or impetuousness I act/react without thinking and then rue the decision with all the angst of David that we find in his great Psalm 51.

Do you think anybody else on that plane wondered if Jonah was on board? I’m doubting it. As the plane leveled out to cruising altitude the pilot turned off the seatbelt sign. We were lulled into a sense of security by the purr of the engines. Interestingly, we were told that while we could now move about the cabin (aka: make a beeline to the toilet) while we were seated we should keep our belts buckled since we never knew when would encounter turbulence. Life is like that. You never know when the ripples are going to rise. That should have us doing two things: being proactive in our decisions, conscious of the consequences as much as we can be; and our reaction should always be one of humility. It’s not enough to be “so, so sorry.” We have to be broken, open, and dependent upon God. It’s the only way to ride the waves.

I made it to my destination that day. But my journey, is far from over.