What Did You Do?

Watched an interesting TV show this week: "What Would You Do?" in which hidden cameras observe man-on-the-street reactions to moral dilemmas. The idea of the show is to catch people either being good or being bad.

The producers provide tricky questions such as what would you do if you saw a man doping a woman's drink, or someone cutting in line at the grocery store ... only to win a prize for being the 5 millionth customer, or if you received an email by mistake that foretold your boss's being fired ... just when boss is buying expensive house.

The show is kind of fun as you watch some folks turn their heads and ignore others' problems, kind of uplifting as you watch others jump in and help, and kind of uncomfortable as you think about what you would honestly do in that same situation.

But it got me thinking that the show is probably pretty accurate regarding our own life review. It's something to consider, whether you believe (as I do) in a Heavenly debriefing in which we get to review our life's taken or missed opportunities, or if you just accept that someday you'll be an old geezer, sitting in a nursing home reliving your memories. Either way, what you do now will affect your future.

If nothing else, your reaction to others' problems teaches your children a lot. They watch you either ignore or reach out to help someone in trouble and they learn that you are honest about what you tell them they ought to do. They then model their actions after what they observe in you.

Watch the show sometime. Then apply the premise to your own life occasionally. Try to visualize how your reaction will look to someone else, or to yourself in a few years as you review it.

Everything you do (or don't do) has consequences. Your actions and words affect others. You have the power of life and death in your tongue, the Bible says. And your children's faces reflect the impact you make on their hearts.

BC