Living a life without regrets takes effort, faith

Jesus once told his disciples, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57)

Did you ever wonder what Jesus meant by that?

My thought, for at least a part of what Jesus intended, is that he was addressing our tendency to second-guess our decisions and commitments.

He was asking us to choose not to live by regrets.

You know that little voice that says, “If only...”?

Instead, Jesus called his disciples to follow another voice and to find the freedom that his truth and wisdom make in our lives.

A life without regrets demands a few things from us.

First, make wise choices.

Every decision has its own consequences. When we make good decisions, we find we can own and live with the consequences.

The ability to make wise choices involves patience and gathering good information.

Don’t make it your habit to do your decision making by “shooting from the hip” or “the lip” as the case might be.

A second need is to stay focused on the important things. Major on the “majors” and minor on the “minors.”

Don’t just talk your priorities, rather, live them. Make your priorities come alive.

For example, don’t just tell me that your family is important, but show me.

This is one area where others can help us by holding us accountable to our expressed priorities.

Everyone needs someone who loves them enough to want the best for them, and respects them enough to expect the best from them.

Third, practice situational awareness.

If I would live a life without regrets, I must be aware of how my life impacts others.

A chaplain friend would say, “Check your wake!”

Every now and then I have to ask myself, “What am I leaving behind me? Or what is the effect of my life?”

So, this means on occasion, look at what is my impact on others, and determine how to make the most positive impact possible.

However, that “look” is meant to be a glance and not a longing gaze or an exercise in navel-gazing.

Fourth, to be focused, to pursue a goal, and to seek to live a life without regrets may imply a certain amount of risk, or demand more than a little courage at times.

A friend shared this poem with me by William Arthur Ward that depicts how that risk might look:

“To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk being sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk exposing our true selves.

To place your ideas, your hopes, and your dreams before the crowd is to risk loss.

To love is to risk being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To try at all is to risk failure.

But to risk we must.

Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The woman or the man who risks nothing, will do nothing, have nothing of value, and ultimately will be nothing.”

Finally, in the midst of this risky journey, it is important to soak up the grace of God.

Grace is the undeserved kindness that allows me to move beyond my failures.

It also empowers me to get past my disappointment in others when they fail me.

Grace can shape me so my wake is not full of garbage and mess.

Grace works to allow my life, with all of its rough edges, to still have a positive effect on the lives of others.

Grace can free us to find the future that God has for us.

May God’s amazing grace be poured out upon you richly.