Fast Forward is a marvelous function on your DVD or DVR remote. Push it and you can skip to the future of a story to see what happens before you have to live through the story.
Push Fast Forward
If you want to see how the movie ends without going through all the drama, just Fast Forward. Did you record the game, but you don’t want to spend the time watching the whole thing? Just push Fast Forward and skip to the score.
Wise people use a kind of Fast Forward function in their minds to make wise decisions. What do I mean?
Wise people use their logic and forethought to judge the wisdom of a decision by pushing Fast Forward and determining the logical outcome their decision will have in the future. After all, we should all know that we are continually living out the consequences of our past decisions.
Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Everybody, sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences.”
Some of those consequences are the product of wise decisions and are blessings. Others are painful and the product of decisions you wish you hadn’t made.
Mark Twain wrote, “The man that sets out to carry a cat by its’ tail learns something that will always be useful and which will never grow dim or doubtful.”
Wisdom is thinking through the decisions of today with a forward view to that decision’s probable outcome.
Norman Cousins said, “Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.”
It really is that simple.
Here is the point of this post…
When you are faced with a choice, be wise, push Fast Forward and consider the eventual outcomes of such a choice. Then heed the warnings and make the wise decision.
This is most often how wisdom is attained…Pushing Fast Forward.
Proverbs 2:4 says we should search for wisdom “as for hidden treasure.” Pushing Fast Forward is important.
When you are considering sharing that constructive criticism about the dress your wife is wearing…push Fast Forward. Consider the logical outcome of your critique.
When you are considering the job you will pursue or the person you wish to marry, push Fast Forward.
When you are considering the time your kids devote to sports in ways that interfere with their participation in church, push Fast Forward. What ultimate impact will your decisions have on their faith, on their commitment to the things of God, on their own commitment to church and even on how they will likely rear your grandchildren?
When you consider a financial purchase, push Fast Forward. You won’t regret doing so.
When you are tempted to sin, push Fast Forward. Is it not going to bring more harm than good?
What decisions are before you today? Spend some time pushing the Fast Forward button in your brain and think through the future implications of the choices you could make. Then make the wise choice.
Question: What are suggestions you have for thinking ahead when faced with a choice? Share them with us. You can leave a comment by clicking here.
In making decisions. I start out by praying. Depending on God to lead me to the right decision. Push forward is the best advise ever. Thank you for Prevailing Life. I read every posting!
Thanks Judy!
Pushing fast forward goes hand in hand with planning. We should all have short-term (today), intermediate (90-180 days), and long – term (5 years plus) goals. When we push the fast forward button, we should consider how the decision impacts those goals. Does it bring us closer to our goals or delay achievement of them?
Good question to ask!