Choices

Jonathan Edwards famously defined the will as "the mind choosing."

I look at our culture, our media, our supermarkets, our institutions, our churches, and what do I see?

Choices.

Am I the only one who gets mind freeze when confronted by the continual endless parade of choices that passes before our eyes?

More and better choices are a GOOD thing, right? They're what our Free Enterprise System is all about! I mean, what did people do before they could choose between 200+ varieties of ice cream?

Sometimes I imagine what a mind from Jonathan Edwards' generation would make of this century's unlimited access to streaming online videos 24 hours a day from the convenience of your laptop/cell phone/tablet/game system/(insert latest tech-wonder here).

Would such a mind be paralyzed? Or just choose at random?

I guess what I'm wondering amounts to: at what point does the multiplex of choices exceed rational thought?

Am I just being a Puritan-esque kill-joy here? To be considering the dark side of endless choices?

Or is the expanding universe of options training our wills to choose mindlessly? Or even worse, to choose un-spiritually?

For one thing, evaluating each of a multitude of choices takes more time. Lots more.

Just think of the the hours and hours you and I have wasted channel-surfing or sifting through the websites that pop up when we Google?

Older guys like I can recall the time when a trip to the movie theater or drive-in involved a single screen with one or two features preceded by a Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse cartoon. Now it's a mega-plex of choices that leaves you wondering if you are missing a better choice in the neighboring theater.

Time is a limited commodity. More choices mean lengthier decision-making, taking up more time.

Yes, there are people who revel in endless choices, who are always hankering after something new, who have every flavor at Baskin Robbins on their bucket list.

But I want to suggest that there's something reassuring to meet a person who's content with the tried and true, content with one or two favorite channels, doesn't lose sleep wondering what he's missing out on by settling on one breakfast cereal, or one well-worn pair of shoes...

A person like that usually has time to spare, time to ponder and meditate, time to spend with a friend who's hurting, time to turn some pages of a time-honored Book.

Time to spend with the Author.

The will is "the mind choosing." You and I can choose wisely...

If we take the time.


MNA
3/23/2018