Christmas Musings Day 4

It’s All a Matter of Choice

Genesis 2:15-17 (ESV) ¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat[d] of it you shall surely die.”

               In class today, I spoke with my sophomores concerning my policy regarding rounding up grades. I asked them what they expected me to do if they had an eighty-nine in my class? They all responded, round up to a ninety. Then I asked them what my decision matrix was to determine if I would round up? This question flummoxed them. They responded with a variety of mathematical answers. Imagine their surprise when I explained that their behavior in class determined my decision to round up, or round down. They found it hard to believe that I would in fact round down if they were ill-behaved or displayed a poor attitude. When I added the fact that poor behavior or lackadaisical attitudes towards work would keep them from promotion, increases in pay, or longevity at work, the classroom got very silent. They were quite uncomfortable with the thought that their attitudes or behaviors, their choices, influenced the outcomes of their lives. We have always sought to avoid the results of our choices.

               God built choice into the relationship equation. He bestowed the gift of choice on humanity. Fundamentally, Kimmy, our cat, behaves as her built-in instincts direct. She does not enjoy choice. Though she is declawed, if given the chance, she will hurl herself at any interloper in our backyard. Instincts rule. God built us differently. We get to choose. Sadly, we often choose poorly and then bemoan our fate when we suffer the consequences of our faulty decisions. Advent reminds me that God too has choice. He could have walked away from the mess that we made; however, He chose a different route, rolled up His divine sleeves, and set about fixing our mistake…no matter the cost. Every Advent season reminds me that He chose grace and mercy.