Every person who comes to this earth is given the gift of free agency, or free will. God will never force any man to heaven. He must allow us all to choose for ourselves. I can certainly think of worse things than being made to inherit Celestial glory, but that’s not how it works—He’ll only give it to us if that’s what we want.
As we make our choices every day, we have a set of results that will come about because of those choices. The results of good choices lead us to happiness, while the consequences of bad choices lead to heartache. These consequences don’t always make themselves clear right away. Sometimes it seems that an evil or unwise choice would be the best path to happiness, but down the road, that misery will come. Likewise, sometimes it’s hard to make the right choice and we lose friends, respect, and sometimes even jobs and relationships because of it. But eventually, we will see the rewards for making the right choices.
The hardest part of free agency is the concept of accountability. When you make a choice, you must be prepared for whatever the outcome may be. And when you make a poor decision, you must be willing to face up to it and rectify the mistake. You cannot make a bad decision and expect good results. If you have made a bad decision, you must be willing to step up, be accountable, admit you have done something wrong, and set about fixing it.
I’ve known several people who seem to be incapable of admitting when they are wrong. They put the blame on other people, sometimes even telling lies to shift the accountability to someone else’s shoulders. They are lying to themselves, to others, and ultimately to God. They do not have peace—instead, they are living a life of shame and deceit.
I can tell you firsthand what a wonderful feeling it is to come clean and to admit that you’ve made a mistake. You do feel foolish for a little while, especially when you go about setting it straight. But nine times out of ten, it’s easier to ‘fess up and fix the mistake than it is to hide it, lie about it, and carry the burden around with you.
If you don’t like having to face up to less than desirable consequences, why not make the choices that will get you the results you do want?
Related Blogs:
Young Women: Choice and Accountability