HIT THE RESET BUTTON OFTEN.
We’ve all done it… we’re in the middle of a
game of Madden or FIFA, everything is going great and then you throw a costly interception
or give up a late game winning goal. Though angered and inconvenienced, no real
harm is done, because you can simply lean forward and hit the reset button. I
remember as a kid always saving my progress in a season of FIFA because I could
go back to the beginning of a bad run of games and start over, right before it
all went wrong. Maybe that was how I always went undefeated!
Sadly, life is not like that at all. We can’t
hit reset on a year, or a month in that way. We don’t get three lives like in
Mario. This is the real deal—and our decisions are critical. But, we can hit
the rest button on our attitude and outlook. And it is very important to have
this power-tool in your arsenal each day.
One of the memories most engrained in my
mind growing up was when my Dad and I were in the capital city in Ivory Coast.
All my friends were away on an annual mountain hike and camp out…and injured
from soccer I was unable to go. We went to the city as a replacement trip. One
morning we were on our way to the highlight of the trip, the main reason for
our time… renting jet skis on the coast. About half way into the hour ride we
stopped on the side of the highway to take a photo. When we got back in the car
I failed to fasten my seat belt…and an instant later the government soldiers
flagged us down. To make matters worse I
didn’t have my identification card. It was a mess. Soldiers around us, AK-47s
to boot, language and culture barriers, fear and frustration, two fines to be
paid and a return trip all the way back to get my missing card…adding unnecessary
time and cost. Tensions were high. I was mad that my Dad was mad. My Dad was
mad that I messed up. We were both mad that this was going to cost us time and
money. The ride back to where we were staying was long and no words were
exchanged. The whole trip was ruined, because of 5 seconds of a lapse in
thinking. It looked like the whole weekend was going to be ruined. We both were
to the point of giving up, skipping jet-skiing and returning the 4 hour trip
home.
Then we hit the reset button. Though still
frustrated and angry…we talked it out and the focal point of the conversation
was that we both made mistakes and we both needed to agree to forgive, forget
and start over. So when we pulled out
for the second time to head to the beach, after collecting my card…we literally
pretended that it was the first time we were pulling out. Though it was already
midday and much time had been wasted.
One of the ugliest predicaments I had ever
been in with my Dad ended up being one of the best highlights of my times
growing up. And it taught me a valuable lesson.
Sometimes,
many time, you need to hit the reset button.
Maybe you wake up and make a slew of
mistakes—hit the reset button.
Maybe you spilled your coffee, got a
speeding ticket and were still late to work—hit the reset button.
Maybe you looked at what you shouldn’t, did
what you said you wouldn’t—hit the reset button.
Maybe someone else has done this that and
the other to you—hit the reset button for them.
Thankfully God is the God of a thousand
chances. Hit the reset button often with prayer, repentances and asking for forgiveness.
Keep short account with God and others.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end; they are new every
morning… (Lam 3:22-23)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:19)
LISTEN TO LIFE’S WARNINGS.
I remember when I was young, again
traveling home with my Dad from the city, on a large bus. About an hour into
the trip I kept hearing this loud buzzing sound, going on and off, on and off…
and then eventually it was constant. I finally asked my dad what the sound was,
it was inescapable. You couldn’t miss it! We were right in the front of the bus
with a clear view of the driver…and he pointed out that there was a large red
light that on the dashboard that kept lighting up in correlation with the
buzzing. The light was for an overheating engine. But did our driver care?
Nope. He was cool as a cucumber, smoking cigarette one after another and continuing
to go well over the speed limit on a horrible road. He was pushing forward with
all he had. He apparently didn’t see the light, didn’t hear the sound…or had
just gotten used to it and simply didn’t care anymore.
Well sure enough, the engine did over heat
and we were stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere with a
steaming engine for hours.
Sometimes I wish that life had a flashing
red light and a loud buzzing noise when I am going too hard, too fast and
pushing the limits on a bumpy ill-advised road.
But often it does.
First, is our conscience. Romans 2:15 says ‘their consciences also bears witness, and their thoughts sometimes
accusing them and at other times even defending them…’ and as believers the
Holy Spirit warns loud and clear over and over in many situations.
But if your life is anything like mine. I can get pretty
good at ignoring the buzzing, and flashing of the warning signs in my head that
are screaming… GET OUT… TAKE THE NEXT EXIT… SLOW DOWN … MAKE FIRST AVAILABLE
U-TURN. And pretty soon, that once loud warning voice, is oddly quiet and
almost non-existent.
Second, are warning signs that God sends into our life that
most often look like inconveniences. Just after moving here I got a speeding
ticket while driving home. The road was unfamiliar and I thought that I was on
another road. Two back to back possible left turns on parallel roads and I took
the first instead of the second. The one I thought I was on was 35mph, the one
I had turned down was 25mph. Still… I was going 40. So yes, guilty. The cop
didn’t care that I was new to the area. I was pretty frustrated that he didn’t
give me a warning considering I had only lived in the town for two weeks and
hadn’t gotten a ticket in 10 years. Little did I know that God was sending me a
warning. The cop actually said, you have to be careful making that left because
‘many walkers, and joggers cross right there without stopping/looking’.
The very next week when I was driving home and taking the
same route, I was going much slower, since, tickets always get your attention.
And wouldn’t you know…a jogger ran right out in front of me without looking or
stopping. Had I been going 25, rather than the 20 I was now going because of
the wake up call…I most likely would have hit them…and it may not have even
been my fault. You better believe that I take that corner ever so slow now. I
actually stopped the officer not long after when I saw him patrolling in town
to thank him… for the $120 ticket. Because it very well may have saved me from
hurting someone very badly and costing me way more than that. God may very well
have sent that cop to stop me from ending a life a week later.
Be aware of the warning signs that are being sent into your
life. They are there for a reason. Don’t ignore them. Typically the louder or
more dramatic the warning sign…the more imminent the danger and risk. Keep your
radar up for them and actually listen to them.
God warns people to stop them from doing wrong and to keep them from becoming proud. He
does this to save them from death.
He wants to keep them from being destroyed. (Job 33:17-18)
MISTAKES ARE MORE CRUCIAL THE LATER THEY OCCUR.
We all watched the Superbowl this year… and we all left
thinking; what in the world were the Seahawks thinking!?!? All they needed to
do was move the ball 3-4 feet and they would be the back to back Superbowl
Champions. Oddly enough, they elected to throw the ball from the 1 yard line…and
it was intercepted. In a millisecond, all that training, all the hard work, all
the planning was flushed down the drain. That single play can teach us 100
lessons. Such as, you can lose everything in a second with a single bad
decision. We probably would lose count trying to count all of the people
mentioned in the media who have lost everything because of one bad text
message, one bad tweet, and one bad night.
But the point I want to make is this…
Tom Brady actually threw a much worse pass in the first half
when the Patriots were going in to score. The defender didn’t have to make the
play of the year to stop it—he threw it right to him. Just like the Seahawks,
the Patriots were within yards of the end zone and it would have been the first
score of the game. The interception ended a promising drive and any hope of
scoring. It is well known that teams that score first in the Superbowl are
exactly twice as likely to win. (32-16) On top of that, Brady actually threw
twice as many interceptions as Russell Wilson.
So why are we talking about Russell Wilsons interception?
Because that single
play defined the outcome of the game… and why? Because of when it happened. It
happened so late in the game that the Seahawks couldn’t make up for it. Time is
a factor.
Mistakes that are made later in the game… of life… are often
way more costly than mistakes made early on. A bad habit, a bad grade, a bad relationship
in High School usually isn’t life altering. It can be… but a bad habit, a bad
grade, a bad relationship in college… is much more costly…. A bad habit as a
father, a bad grade at work and a bad marriage… is extremely costly.
This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is;
time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we
first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be
here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining
armor of right living. (Rom 13:11-12)
Things have just gotten far more serious for you now that
you have graduated High School.
Mistakes are
amplified and so it is crucial that you…
Hear and react to the warning signs that are being sent into
your life.
When you hear a warning sign, wake up and admit it and hit
the reset button as soon as possible.
And learn from the process so that you are not costing yourself
greatly.
