Irrational Decisions
I started my new job today. I think it went okay. The first week of anything is always awkward. You do not know anyone, they do not know you - it is just uncomfortable. Everyone was really nice and friendly. They even showed me where the bathroom was before I asked! This may seem crazy, but there is no sign that says "Restrooms." Therefore, you just have to know where they are.
Some of the ladies took me to lunch and they asked me lots of questions. One of the questions was "what was your major in college?" Well, my major was history, and I explained that my parents were a little concerned with my choice of major. So, one said. "did you know you were going to law school when you picked that major?" I said, "no, I did not." An awkward silence ensued and I finally told them the truth, "I was making good grades in history and was able to maintain a decent social life and therefore I decided to stick with it." At that moment, I realized how completely irrational that decision making process was. My parents are probably completely embarrassed after reading this, but it is the truth.
Why is it that colleges make kids who are 18 or 19 years old, pick a major? This probably reiterates my post from yesterday, but I was not a great decision maker at that time. It is so hard to have long term perspective on your life at 18 or 19, yet most colleges make you declare a major by the time you are a sophomore. I would bet that I am not the only person who made such an irrational choice on a major life decision.
I will say, maybe it does all work out in the end. In fact, by the time I was a senior I secretly wished I had been a religion major. One day I was in Bishop Morgan's office talking with him about class, (he was one of my religion professors and a mentor) and we were talking about majors. He asked me what my major was, and after telling him I was a history major, he told me that he had majored in religion when he was at BSC. However, he said if he had to do it all again he would have majored in history.
In fact, his method of teaching religion was to make us learn who, what, when, and where of the various parts of the Bible we were studying. Basically, we had to first learn the history in order to gain perspective. I have always loved history so this really helped me to learn to love studying the Bible. For me, understanding the writer's audience and the history of the culture helped me better understand the Bible. It was definitely a "light bulb going off" kind of time for me.
Anyway, maybe many big life decisions are made irrationally. Some people would argue that getting married actually takes an irrational frame of mind. No, I am not just saying this because I am single. There are actual studies which argue that people who get married are in this "bliss" period of love. I compare this to Granny's saying, "getting married is one thing, going home and taking care of it is another."
Now, I am not saying all irrational decisions are bad. Although I love Sidda, getting her was one of the more irrational decisions of my life, but I can't imagine living without her. A friend of mine who happens to be a minister, once told me that God is always working for the good in our lives. Although we have free will and make decisions, God is still trying to work for the good out of all our decision making. This doesn't mean that bad decisions will not result in bad repercussions to us and to others, it also doesn't mean that God doesn't stop bad things from happening such as illnesses and untimely passing of loved ones. But God does try to work the good out in all situations through his unending love.
This seems so hard to believe when you are in the pits of life - trust me I know. However, I do believe that in the pits of life, God is there to wrap his love around us and assures us we are not alone. Having gone through the pits of life has surely increased my faith. Likewise, all these irrational decisions have increased my faith and belief that God truly wants good things for our lives. Think about it, how incredible is it that such irrational decisions can be such life giving experiences. The hand of God must have been in the life giving. I mean, think about this, I chose a major based on my social life and having a good time and it ended up helping me to love studying the Bible.
Some of the ladies took me to lunch and they asked me lots of questions. One of the questions was "what was your major in college?" Well, my major was history, and I explained that my parents were a little concerned with my choice of major. So, one said. "did you know you were going to law school when you picked that major?" I said, "no, I did not." An awkward silence ensued and I finally told them the truth, "I was making good grades in history and was able to maintain a decent social life and therefore I decided to stick with it." At that moment, I realized how completely irrational that decision making process was. My parents are probably completely embarrassed after reading this, but it is the truth.
Why is it that colleges make kids who are 18 or 19 years old, pick a major? This probably reiterates my post from yesterday, but I was not a great decision maker at that time. It is so hard to have long term perspective on your life at 18 or 19, yet most colleges make you declare a major by the time you are a sophomore. I would bet that I am not the only person who made such an irrational choice on a major life decision.
I will say, maybe it does all work out in the end. In fact, by the time I was a senior I secretly wished I had been a religion major. One day I was in Bishop Morgan's office talking with him about class, (he was one of my religion professors and a mentor) and we were talking about majors. He asked me what my major was, and after telling him I was a history major, he told me that he had majored in religion when he was at BSC. However, he said if he had to do it all again he would have majored in history.
In fact, his method of teaching religion was to make us learn who, what, when, and where of the various parts of the Bible we were studying. Basically, we had to first learn the history in order to gain perspective. I have always loved history so this really helped me to learn to love studying the Bible. For me, understanding the writer's audience and the history of the culture helped me better understand the Bible. It was definitely a "light bulb going off" kind of time for me.
Anyway, maybe many big life decisions are made irrationally. Some people would argue that getting married actually takes an irrational frame of mind. No, I am not just saying this because I am single. There are actual studies which argue that people who get married are in this "bliss" period of love. I compare this to Granny's saying, "getting married is one thing, going home and taking care of it is another."
Now, I am not saying all irrational decisions are bad. Although I love Sidda, getting her was one of the more irrational decisions of my life, but I can't imagine living without her. A friend of mine who happens to be a minister, once told me that God is always working for the good in our lives. Although we have free will and make decisions, God is still trying to work for the good out of all our decision making. This doesn't mean that bad decisions will not result in bad repercussions to us and to others, it also doesn't mean that God doesn't stop bad things from happening such as illnesses and untimely passing of loved ones. But God does try to work the good out in all situations through his unending love.
This seems so hard to believe when you are in the pits of life - trust me I know. However, I do believe that in the pits of life, God is there to wrap his love around us and assures us we are not alone. Having gone through the pits of life has surely increased my faith. Likewise, all these irrational decisions have increased my faith and belief that God truly wants good things for our lives. Think about it, how incredible is it that such irrational decisions can be such life giving experiences. The hand of God must have been in the life giving. I mean, think about this, I chose a major based on my social life and having a good time and it ended up helping me to love studying the Bible.
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