One Decision -- A Guest Post by Jim Manning

Today I'd like to introduce you to a guest blogger, Jim Manning. Jim is a Richland County Councilman, long-time social worker, and a dear friend. One of seven writers who joined me at a Christian Devotions Writing Workshop last Saturday, Jim and the others learned the basics of how to write a devotion. They took the information and began to craft devotions that communicated the messages God laid on their hearts. 


Jim's devotion is powerful and profoundly simple. I wanted to share it with you today.



One Decision

 Let the good times roll!

Party hearty, and let the day’s troubles flow away.   

"Sure, I’ll have another," he tells the bartender. 



Music and amusement cause an electrifying buzz about the place. The young lady is so sweet, laughs at my jokes and looks at me like I am the man of her dreams. These characteristics intensify as the number of cocktails mount.   

One decision can change everything. 

A lifetime can be turned upside down because of one decision. A new future becomes a current reality because of one decision. 
  
One decision changes everything. 

 

It feels like it is time, and so off we go. 

What seems to be worry-free travel ends with blue lights and sirens. What began as an act of apparent innocence is now an arrest for DUI. A career built on a college education, years of experience, and professional advancement comes to a screeching halt. The question on job applications regarding convictions will now have a different answer.  

What began as a playful, flirting conversation is now a marital nightmare. Years invested in building a marriage are circling down the drain. What began as a whimsical happy hour is now a night in jail.  A Christmas savings account becomes bail bond. Vacation funds are converted into criminal defense lawyer fees.

He falls victim to the foolishness of joining in the merriment of those who, without the knowledge of the Lord, are fearless folks. His contempt for godly wisdom and self-control leads to one decision. 

Yet Proverbs 1:7 provides guidance for our decisions, these decisions we make one by one. It instructs: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline."

Lord, let us come to you prior to making our next, one decision.

  
Copyright 2012 by Jim Manning




 

Jim Manning is a Social Worker who walked and talked too slow for his native Pittsburgh.  By way of West Virginia University, he ended up in Columbia SC. Married to trophy wife Sandra C. Manning, Ph.D., Jim revels in the fact his two young adult sons favor Mom in all regards. Jim has contributed articles to professional membership association newsletters over his 30 year career. Jim was elected to Richland County Council in 2008, and he strives to be a Barnabas to his colleagues, particularly men, to encourage them to be of ethical character and faithful in their relationships.

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