Alternatives permeate every aspect of my life. My doctor prescribes a specific drug. I take a generic alternative that my insurance company will pay for. I traditionally order a whole milk latte when I have the chance. As an alternative, I use 2% milk when I am home. I think of myself as a car guy. Most of the time, I can be found riding a Harley Davidson. I see myself centered on God. When I look in the mirror, I often find that it is really all about me.
Alternatives are always out there. I know there are three ways I can go to my upcoming high school reunion. The options ignore alternatives transportation options like air or bus. The fastest way is by using the interstate. Google map provides a non-highway option. This gives me two more routes. Do I choose expediency over scenery? Will I go for speed or cruising? Will I discover something new or stay with the predictable.
When I think of the ugly alternatives, it is easier to let another story tell what happens in my life. In one case, a mob was looking for two innocents. “When they couldn’t find them, they collared Jason and his friends instead and dragged them before the city fathers, yelling hysterically, ‘These people are out to destroy the world, and now they’ve shown up on our doorstep, attacking everything we hold dear! And Jason is hiding them, these traitors and turncoats who say Jesus is king and Caesar is nothing!’” (Acts 17.6, 7)
I have been that mob more times than I can imagine! As much as I keep thinking that I have learned, the story repeats in my life. The convenient alternative is the one I usually pick.
Today, I know I have options. Exercise, writing, telephones call, errands, and resting are just the beginning. Being intentional is always my aspiration. In each aspect, there is an alternative. A story will be born in my actions. What it says will draw a picture of my values and even of my God.
