“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth.” -Ecclesiastes 12:1a
Clean Slate?
We often hear the new year referred to as a clean slate. Nothing has happened yet and we could, apparently, do or become anything we want if we just work hard enough. People make New Years’ Resolutions and talk about all the changes they are going to make. As pretty and nice as this sounds, is it really true? Is the New Year a clean slate? I don’t know about you, but even after New Years’ Day my life was pretty much the same. I had the same family, same job, same friends, and even the same name. So it seems like things don’t really all reset on January 1st every year, but it is a good time to look at the choices we made last year and see where they will lead us in the upcoming year.
Choices and Consequences
When I was a kid, I remember the year that we switched from 1999 to 2000. Everyone was sure are the computers would shut down since they kept dates in a MM/DD/YY setup and some computers would erase their data or it would be rendered unreadable because the computers didn’t register 99 as after 00. They we sure the world would end and we would be thrown into apocalypse. Some people made some very foolish decisions in December of 1999 because they thought that the end was near. As it turned out, a couple of computers did have some glitches, but with programmers working around the clock, all in all things worked out fine.
The choices we make, both those that we made last year and those that we will make this year, have permanent consequences. The choices we don’t make have consequences as well. Every year, every day, has choices that cannot be undone, and we need to realize that we don’t have a ‘clean slate’ to reset things when we mess up. There is forgiveness, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t deal with consequences. Samson repented of his drinking and womanizing, and God did forgive him, but Samson remained blind. David was forgiven for his sin with Bathsheba, but their first son still died.
The teen years are very important times for making choices. The habits that you pick up now will be carried throughout your entire life. The years from 13-20 are some of the most habit forming years of your entire life. 45% of teenagers who start drinking alcohol at 13-14 years of age will become alcoholics. FORTY FIVE PERCENT! Think about that. No one looks at an alcoholic and says, “thats who I want to be.” Instead, the choices people make at your age lead them there.
This doesn’t just apply to alcoholism, it is just one of the easy things to measure. This applies to all sin in our lives. If you choose to do it today, it will be harder to choose differently tomorrow. Thankfully though, this doesn’t just apply to sin, but also to the good habits you form now as well. Do you memorize Scripture? Good, that will stay with you a long time. Do you read and meditate on God’s Word? That habit is one that will stay with you. Do you spend time alone with God in prayer? If you make it a priority now, it will stay with you. The choices you make this week, today, and even tonight can stay with you for a lifetime.
Make Decisions Ahead of Time
The Supreme Court's leading case on the use of deadly force is Tennessee v. Garner. In that 1985 opinion, the court invalidated a state force statute in a civil suit where a burglar was fatally shot in the head while trying to escape over a backyard fence. The Supreme Court said the use of deadly force in these circumstances constituted an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment. The court gave guidelines for evaluating the constitutionality of the use of deadly force in any given case, which would include situations in which "reflex fire" is directed at the suspect.*
The court first defined the circumstances under which the use of deadly force would be considered unconstitutional:
"Not withstanding probable cause to seize a suspect, an officer may not always do so by killing him. Where the suspect poses no immediate threat to the officer and no threat to others, the harm resulting from failing to apprehend him does not justify the use of deadly force to do so. A police officer may not seize an unarmed, non-dangerous suspect by shooting him dead."
Then, Garner set forth examples of circumstances in which deadly force could constitutionally be used: "Where the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or to others, it is not constitutionally unreasonable to prevent escape by using deadly force. Thus, if the suspect threatens the officer with a weapon or there is probable cause to believe that he has committed a crime involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious physical harm, deadly force may be used if necessary to prevent escape, and if, where feasible, some warning has been given."*
People do terribly under pressure. In that case in 1985 the police officers had only a split second to decide what to do with the escaping criminal. In that short timeframe, they shot and killed him. Pulling a trigger is easy, knowing when is not. This is why we train police officers and military. DRILL, DRILL, DRILL. Under pressure people may freeze, panic, or attack. Practice and study help soldiers and officers to handle the unexpected. As Christians, we need to drill as well. Temptation rarely comes when we want it to or when we have time for it. Instead, it comes when we aren’t ready, when we don’t have a plan. We need to prepare for these situations.
It's not uncommon to hear or read about officer-involved shootings where multiple officers emptied their loads into the suspect and anything within 10 feet of him. Asked about why they opened fire, bystander officers may reply, "When another officer started shooting, I just reflexively started shooting, too."
Sometimes referred to as "sympathetic fire" or "contagious shooting," this phenomenon can have implications not only for officer and public safety, but also for public relations, internal discipline, civil liability, and even potential criminal prosecution.*
Sometimes we do this with sin as well. We see someone else is sinning and we don’t know what to do. Instead of stopping and thinking, we join in. The choices we make in moments like that can be just as permanent and just as deadly to our souls and policemen all opening fire on an unarmed suspect. If the policemen were ready to make a choice, if they had made a choice before they were in the situation, then maybe they would not have all opened fire.
How to Make Positive Change
King David tells us, “Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.” PSALM 119:11
This is an important key to making right choices. We must prepare ahead of time. David choose to study God’s Word so that he knew what choices he was going to make.
Another thing we can do, no matter what age you are, is choose a person you respect and copy their behavior and choices. When I was about 16 a preacher came to our hometown in Kansas and gave us that advice. I respected the speaker greatly and choose to try to copy his speech patterns, behavior, his patience, and even the way he walked. The speaker I choose to copy was a really quiet fellow so I guess I failed in that part, but I do firmly believe that choosing someone we respect and trying to be like them in some ways is a good way to form good habits. Paul told the Corinthian church, “Do as I do, for I am doing as Christ did.” I COR. 11:1
Choosing a Godly role model is an excellent way of forming good habits and making Godly choices. We need to be more like Christ, and sometimes the best way to do that is to follow someone who is doing that already.
Conclussion
A New Year is not a totally clean slate. However, it is a good time to review our choices and change some of them. We will always have places we can improve, the important thing it to remember to do so. In closing, I would like leave you with a few verses out of Galatians chapter 5.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
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