At a Crossroad. What Now?

My student is facing a crossroads, how can I help them be wise?

Wisdom is a treasure like a diamond that sparkles brilliantly. The beautiful sparkle comes from a jeweler’s skillful cutting of many faces. It’s the same with wisdom. One easily overlooked “face” that can help wisdom “sparkle” is the question “How do I want to be?”

Acknowledge the “be-do-be-do” cycle.

The “be-do-be-do” cycle is the reality that who I am drives what I do and what I do impacts who I am, and round and round.

BEING DRIVES DOING

In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus explains a tree will produce fruit that matches what is inside of it, and concludes that people are the same way, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

DOING IMPACTS BEING

In Matthew 6:19, Jesus explains that our actions, while chasing what’s important to us, can’t help but affect who we are, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I never thought it would happen...
Ignoring questions about our being and focusing only on doing is one of the ways people find themselves with unexpected regret. Like the college student who chose the party school out of the two “good” schools without acknowledging his weakness to resist those temptations. Now he’s lost his scholarships and can’t afford tuition. How many stories can you think of where someone you know “never thought it would happen?”

And again, I never thought it would happen...
Choices made for the purpose of cultivating one’s being can also have surprising results. Like the girl who set her heart on being a kind and gracious person. She was nice to her roommate who made poor decisions during her first year of college. She never expected that her roommate’s parents would be so appreciative of her compassionate effort that they paid for her next semester of school (true story.) I suspect you too can think of good examples of how this is true.

Just like a diamond.
“How do I want to be?” is certainly not the only thing to consider for making wise choices, but it certainly can help the choices we make sparkle with wisdom like a diamond.

What are your thoughts?

We want you to win,

The YouthHOPE Team