“[Teddy Roosevelt] danced, just as you’d expect him to dance if you knew him. He hopped.”- Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Bully Pulpit
As John Ortberg continues Chapter 6 of All the Places to Go, he writes that hopping is something we do with our whole selves. Even adults hop in moments of great joy. Pastor Ortberg exhorts us:
“If you’re going through an open door, don’t limp across the threshold. Hop.”
However, a major reason for our failure to go through open doors in a wholehearted manner is buyer’s remorse- because making key spiritual decisions requires high effort, high responsibility, and high commitment. While having second thoughts is an inescapable part of walking through open doors, it s neither fatal nor final. It is important that we recognize that apprehension is part of making difficult decisions and that “having peace about it” is not the ultimate criterion for going through open doors.
Often we excuse our capitulation to fear or laziness with what John describes as one of the worst, over-spiritualized traps: “I just don’t feel peace about it.” Pastor Ortberg notes that the sequence we see in the Bible is quite different: calling, abject terror, decision to obey, big problems, more terror, second thoughts, repeat several times, deeper faith.
We need to go through open doors with all our heart. We need to hop.
Today’s question: How often have you demonstrated buyer’s remorse by second-guessing your decisions? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Discerning wholeheartedness”
