Changing Outcomes

What do you do if you are accused of something bad?

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. - Matthew 5:21-26

If there is a chance you could change the outcome, wouldn't you take it?

If we believe the outcome will be bad, perhaps we would opt to do something, but we might just be willing to take our chances.

Jesus has advice for us.  If we know there is something we have done that is keeping us in a state of uncertainty about the outcome, we should take steps to resolve the conflict.

Why carry it around if we can let it go?

If you owe someone money, you might avoid that person, thinking out of sight, out of mind.  But it is not out of mind, not for you or for him.

In fact, it could prey on you and cause all sorts of stress.

Isn't it better to confront the situation head on and seek a resolution?  Maybe you could come to an agreement and avoid a court case.

I guess Jesus was into risk management.  If something can go wrong, do whatever it takes to avoid bringing it about.  Head it off at the pass, so to speak.

We tend to make our own destiny.  If we believe we are destined to fail, we will fail.  If we believe we will succeed, we will succeed.  

So, what is the worst that could happen?  

We can be embarrassed, shamed, singled out.  But if there is a chance we can find a resolution that will avoid a bad outcome, shouldn't we take it?

More to come...