No Regrets
We often hear in our culture how people want to live their lives with now regrets. I too am opposed to regrets. But many times, people saying that we want to live our lives with no regrets is really a clever way of saying that it is okay to be reckless. The irony is that mentallity is exactly the kind of thinking that leads to regret!
Example - Bachelor parties
Unfortunately, it is customary procedure for “gentlemen” in our culture to have a wild and crazy bachelor party because they want to live their lives with no regrets before they get married. The thought is, “I don’t want to look back and wish I had lived life more fully”. But what they really mean is, “I need an excuse for being reckless”. So strippers, alcohol, and memory lapse (all the fullness of life, no doubt) are involved. But how do they really feel the next day? Regretful? hopefully… if they have a conscience.
Tonight I went to a “bachelor party” with some friends from church. We had a nice dinner, a LOT of laughter, and some go-cart racing. Some might say that is a lame bachelor party. But we had fun. Lot’s of fun. We left the event without feeling estranged from eachother and from God because of reckless behavior. We said our farewells, something like, “Okay, good night, love you brother, see you tomorrow” (referring to church) and we got in our cars and went home. A good time had by all and truly no regrets.
We need to live our lives in the fullness that Christ intended, not in reckless choices and behavior. If we can do that, we may not have as many wild memories, but we will have memories free of regret in the areas that matter most.
Can you think of a time when you made a choice that you thought would lead to no regrets but actually increased them?
