what matters most?

a question left unanswered by a poverty stricken family whose father is left with a decision to keep his children and leave a heritage of misfortune or give them up to the welfare system of the state to "somehow" guarantee a better future.

an inquiry hated by people who were educated to cure the sick and save lives but sometimes are given the task of choosing a life over someone or lose them both.

a gut wrenching reality to a grieving family whose loved one is nearing the end of his life and they are given the option not to revive once his heart stops...or prolong the patient's stay in this world hooked up to machines with  no guarantee of a normal life

If only decision in life are as easy as choosing what to wear, or what to eat, or what channel to watch. If only the level of difficulty of life's choices would stay below our expectations. But then, if God did not give us the ability and the opportunity to gain discernment on what matters most, then we would never appreciate the value over the things we posses....nor the value of the relationships we have.

Sometimes God would take us to a fork in the road to face a very painful decision and the first thing we'll notice is how much adjustment we would have to endure or the hassle of change...small or big, it won't matter because there will always be something different. Then we start to whine and complain...we are actually gearing up for a life of bitterness! We fail to realize that in every decision we make, God allows a certain amount of grace that would help us get through this phase in our lives.

As a phlegmatic melancholic, I dread being given options...the only time i have decided for myself is because my patience ran out...other than that, I would bounce back the decision to whoever asked me. I can discern the value of something or someone, but it's hard for me to justify (within me) the importance of one thing from the other. I tend to see everything as equal...I'm not an ideal optimist...I'm just apathetic! And that's where we Christians get trapped.

We tend to always see everyone with an equal eye...pretty soon, our service to our certain ministries becomes monotonous and uninteresting to us. We develop a routine out of apathy. Then, we could no longer answer "what matters most?" Once this happens, a little threat of change would seem a catastrophe of gigantic proportions!

Let's guard our hearts. Let's keep our intentions pure. Let's get our motivation from the absolute truth. With these, we can develop a conscience that can honestly answer the question of "what matters most?" with full confidence. Knowing that the standards you have developed through the learning of God's word will give you the Spiritual Self-Esteem to differentiate and discern God's will for us!