How Do You Decide?
What if the world was filled with people who only made good choices? Sounds great, right? But, to be honest, we cannot make everyone make the right choices. But what is choice? The dictionary definition says that choice is the "act of selecting or making a decision between two or more possibilities." But to me, I think that a choice is a little bit more than selecting between two or more possibilities. We must put in some more deeper thought. Everyday people make choices whether we are aware of it or not. We choose to brush our teeth, which I hope every one chooses to do, we choose to eat breakfast in the morning, but the most important thing is that we choose to do good or to do bad, to do the right thing or the wrong thing. Most people in society do not realize that our choices have effects on us. They think that a choice is just a choice. In the 21st Century, lots of people in this society have been making bad choices because they do not think before they act. And that's the thing. This is how society makes their choices. This is why people are on the streets begging for money. This is why people are taking drugs and dying because of an overdose because they just think life is too hard. This is why people are drinking alcohol and getting into accidents. I mean tell me, wouldn't it be easier to do nothing than to wake up early everyday, go to school everyday, do homework, or even just work? These thoughts are what people think, who choose not to do anything with their lives. In addition, people are choosing to text and drive or drink and drive. At first they think that the choice they make is just all fun and games and think, "Oh if I am careful I will be okay," but then when they make the action, they regret it. I am here standing in front of you all to support the claim that our choices have an effect on us, and the way we make our choices is very important. So how can we make good choices as a Catholic Christian? In time of temptation, when Satan tempts us to do something bad, will you resist the temptation and do what God wants, or will you give in? God gave us free will, so if we want to, we can choose good. But what comes with choice are the responsibilities and the results of it too. How can we make good decisions and influence people to make good decisions too? What kind of choices does God want?
In the gospel of Matthew, we learned that Jesus was tempted by Satan. But Jesus turned his cheek to Satan and did what The Lord wanted. He was rewarded at the end because he did what was right. Even though you want to do something bad, think twice and think "Is this really the best thing to do?" I know every one of your parents always said "Oh tell the truth, be honest. Even if you want to lie don't because you will feel good that you didn't." At first you think, "But if I tell the truth I might get in trouble." Yes that is correct, but you parents are also right. You will be rewarded for choosing the right thing; even if you feel like you either let someone down for telling the truth, or you think you will get in trouble. Believe me, it will pay off. Maybe not right away, but eventually. Just like when we are praying for something to happen. Jesus hears our prayers, but does not always respond to them immediately. But then, when we think he didn't hear us, he choose to loose faith in him. But we need to think twice- of course God hears us. But sometimes he chooses to put that aside and answer someone else's calling. People everywhere can tempt you to do the wrong things. Sometimes it is not always a person. We all have that "little devil" in us that causes us to do something bad. But it is our choice to listen to that "little devil" or our conscience. But either way, you will have some type of result, whether it is good or bad. As we graduate and soon get our confirmation, we must start to make choices for ourselves. To me, graduation means leaving part of your immaturity behind and growing up a little, not quite all the way, but hitting one of the many important milestones in life. It means it's time to start taking on more responsibilities and being able to handle more problems on your own. So those responsibilities mean choosing the right thing. We no longer need our parents to make our decisions for us. We can consult with them, but they do not need to make our decisions for us. Onto confirmation! The definition of confirmation is when "we affirm Christian belief and are admitted as a full member of the Church." So if we are admitted in the church as a full member, we must follow the footsteps of Jesus and make choices God wants us to make. We must respect our own humanity and others too.
Lately in English Language Arts, he have been talking about humanity. When you look up humanity, the first definition you will get is the human race. But the humanity that we are talking about is the quality or condition of being human. It is the capacity of kindness. Unfortunately, some people in this world not only ignore the quality of being human, but from another person's perspective, it seems as if that person has a very low capacity for kindness. For example, in class, we watched a video on how people treat blacks versus whites. Of course, based on prior knowledge, everyone knows that some people treat blacks much different than whites. A news reporter played a game where you had a gun and had about a second to choose whether you are going to shoot a black with or without a gun or a white with or without a gun. Well they had a machine that watched people's eye movement and whether they watched the hand (if they had a gun or not) or whether they watched their face (if they were black or white). Most people watched the face and they chose the to shoot the blacks. But what throws me off is that everyone has some level of capacity in their hearts for kindness, so how come people can't treat everyone with respect. Unless they did anything to you, there is no reason to have hate on them. But once again, it is their choice. It is their choice to hate blacks or whites. It is their choice to treat them differently. It is their choice to only pay attention to their physical appearance, rather than if they are harming you. In addition, the riots in Baltimore. Everyone chose to be there. No one was pushed to go there. It was up to them. Nobody can force anyone to do anything. You can influence them. You can emphasize an idea multiple times, but you cannot force someone to do anything. But before you make that decision, think about if it is a good idea. Will Jesus be proud? This is the reason many young people are getting into trouble. They are not thinking. Just doing. But it's their fault if they want to do those careless choices, not anyone else's. They have the will and power to do what they want, whether if it's good or bad.
Over the years I have been at St. John Eudes, I have learned quite a lot in religion class. Something that we have learned a lot about in almost every single grade is about free will. Free will is the ability to choose to do good because God has made us like him, in his image. Our free will is what makes us truly human. Our exercise of free will increases our freedom. So, we can choose to do good. But not everyone chooses that option. Sometimes people are just following the crowd and not really thinking about the decision. No one is forcing us to do good, no one! God is just trying to guide us to do what is right. But God also made a very big decision. He chose to have his son crucified. God could have had his son have a fast death, or even live! But instead he had a slow, painful death with nails in his hands and feet and with a crown of thorns. But, Jesus chose to accept that because he trusted God. God has a plan, but sometimes that plan is not visible. Sometimes we blame God for something bad happening to us. For example, a loved one passing away. Some people blame God wondering why he would take them away from us. We are testing God. We are asking him that if he is really God, he will help my grandmother live or my aunt get through this terrible disease. But we shouldn't put God to the test. He is the almighty God! God knows what will happen at the end, so he knows that he is doing something right!
Morality is the principle concerning the distinction between good and bad. These are responsibilities of choice. You need to be aware if the choice is right or wrong. As little kids, we did the Eenie Meanie Miny Mo game to help us choose between two or more things because we can't choose, it was just too hard! But as we grow older, we are responsible for making even harder choices. For example, high schools and colleges. We must make the choice of which school we think best suits ourselves. In addition, friendships and marriages. Which group of kids do want to hang out with? Who will be your perfect mate when you grow up? You do not want to hang out with or marry someone who will just get you into trouble or leave you at the end of the day. Also importantly, the choices we make when we have reached the finish line. When I say this, I do not mean when you actually reach the finish line. Sometimes in certain situations, you have to choose something that makes you sad or mad but sometimes the choice you make is better for another person. For example, on November 22, 2014, my Nina Roxanne, or godmother past away due to a seizure and terrible brain damage. She had been on life support but my family decided to take her off of it. The decision they made was a difficult choice, probably the worst choice. Although they did not want to make that terrible choice, they knew that it would stop my Nina's suffering. They knew there was nothing in there; just a body. It's hard to talk about this and not drown myself in tears.
So, how can we make good decisions as a Catholic Christian? But an important question here is: how can we help society make good choices? What can I do to encourage others? What will the outcome be if we all start making good choices? I feel like, as Catholic Christians, we must be enlightened and inspired by God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Sprit to help us make our choices. If we are inspired by God, then it will teach us and guide us to be like God too. We must follow in Jesus' footsteps. Once we do that, we must influence others to do that too! We must think twice before making a choice and think about the outcome in the end. If we do this, imagine a world where everyone would make the right choices! Nobody would be doing drugs, and nobody would be getting hurt! So I will leave you with this, you learn from your mistakes and remember the bad choices you make, and you choose not to make them again; because we can all do what we want to do.
*pause* So what will you decide? The choice is up to you.
What if the world was filled with people who only made good choices? Sounds great, right? But, to be honest, we cannot make everyone make the right choices. But what is choice? The dictionary definition says that choice is the "act of selecting or making a decision between two or more possibilities." But to me, I think that a choice is a little bit more than selecting between two or more possibilities. We must put in some more deeper thought. Everyday people make choices whether we are aware of it or not. We choose to brush our teeth, which I hope every one chooses to do, we choose to eat breakfast in the morning, but the most important thing is that we choose to do good or to do bad, to do the right thing or the wrong thing. Most people in society do not realize that our choices have effects on us. They think that a choice is just a choice. In the 21st Century, lots of people in this society have been making bad choices because they do not think before they act. And that's the thing. This is how society makes their choices. This is why people are on the streets begging for money. This is why people are taking drugs and dying because of an overdose because they just think life is too hard. This is why people are drinking alcohol and getting into accidents. I mean tell me, wouldn't it be easier to do nothing than to wake up early everyday, go to school everyday, do homework, or even just work? These thoughts are what people think, who choose not to do anything with their lives. In addition, people are choosing to text and drive or drink and drive. At first they think that the choice they make is just all fun and games and think, "Oh if I am careful I will be okay," but then when they make the action, they regret it. I am here standing in front of you all to support the claim that our choices have an effect on us, and the way we make our choices is very important. So how can we make good choices as a Catholic Christian? In time of temptation, when Satan tempts us to do something bad, will you resist the temptation and do what God wants, or will you give in? God gave us free will, so if we want to, we can choose good. But what comes with choice are the responsibilities and the results of it too. How can we make good decisions and influence people to make good decisions too? What kind of choices does God want?
In the gospel of Matthew, we learned that Jesus was tempted by Satan. But Jesus turned his cheek to Satan and did what The Lord wanted. He was rewarded at the end because he did what was right. Even though you want to do something bad, think twice and think "Is this really the best thing to do?" I know every one of your parents always said "Oh tell the truth, be honest. Even if you want to lie don't because you will feel good that you didn't." At first you think, "But if I tell the truth I might get in trouble." Yes that is correct, but you parents are also right. You will be rewarded for choosing the right thing; even if you feel like you either let someone down for telling the truth, or you think you will get in trouble. Believe me, it will pay off. Maybe not right away, but eventually. Just like when we are praying for something to happen. Jesus hears our prayers, but does not always respond to them immediately. But then, when we think he didn't hear us, he choose to loose faith in him. But we need to think twice- of course God hears us. But sometimes he chooses to put that aside and answer someone else's calling. People everywhere can tempt you to do the wrong things. Sometimes it is not always a person. We all have that "little devil" in us that causes us to do something bad. But it is our choice to listen to that "little devil" or our conscience. But either way, you will have some type of result, whether it is good or bad. As we graduate and soon get our confirmation, we must start to make choices for ourselves. To me, graduation means leaving part of your immaturity behind and growing up a little, not quite all the way, but hitting one of the many important milestones in life. It means it's time to start taking on more responsibilities and being able to handle more problems on your own. So those responsibilities mean choosing the right thing. We no longer need our parents to make our decisions for us. We can consult with them, but they do not need to make our decisions for us. Onto confirmation! The definition of confirmation is when "we affirm Christian belief and are admitted as a full member of the Church." So if we are admitted in the church as a full member, we must follow the footsteps of Jesus and make choices God wants us to make. We must respect our own humanity and others too.
Lately in English Language Arts, he have been talking about humanity. When you look up humanity, the first definition you will get is the human race. But the humanity that we are talking about is the quality or condition of being human. It is the capacity of kindness. Unfortunately, some people in this world not only ignore the quality of being human, but from another person's perspective, it seems as if that person has a very low capacity for kindness. For example, in class, we watched a video on how people treat blacks versus whites. Of course, based on prior knowledge, everyone knows that some people treat blacks much different than whites. A news reporter played a game where you had a gun and had about a second to choose whether you are going to shoot a black with or without a gun or a white with or without a gun. Well they had a machine that watched people's eye movement and whether they watched the hand (if they had a gun or not) or whether they watched their face (if they were black or white). Most people watched the face and they chose the to shoot the blacks. But what throws me off is that everyone has some level of capacity in their hearts for kindness, so how come people can't treat everyone with respect. Unless they did anything to you, there is no reason to have hate on them. But once again, it is their choice. It is their choice to hate blacks or whites. It is their choice to treat them differently. It is their choice to only pay attention to their physical appearance, rather than if they are harming you. In addition, the riots in Baltimore. Everyone chose to be there. No one was pushed to go there. It was up to them. Nobody can force anyone to do anything. You can influence them. You can emphasize an idea multiple times, but you cannot force someone to do anything. But before you make that decision, think about if it is a good idea. Will Jesus be proud? This is the reason many young people are getting into trouble. They are not thinking. Just doing. But it's their fault if they want to do those careless choices, not anyone else's. They have the will and power to do what they want, whether if it's good or bad.
Over the years I have been at St. John Eudes, I have learned quite a lot in religion class. Something that we have learned a lot about in almost every single grade is about free will. Free will is the ability to choose to do good because God has made us like him, in his image. Our free will is what makes us truly human. Our exercise of free will increases our freedom. So, we can choose to do good. But not everyone chooses that option. Sometimes people are just following the crowd and not really thinking about the decision. No one is forcing us to do good, no one! God is just trying to guide us to do what is right. But God also made a very big decision. He chose to have his son crucified. God could have had his son have a fast death, or even live! But instead he had a slow, painful death with nails in his hands and feet and with a crown of thorns. But, Jesus chose to accept that because he trusted God. God has a plan, but sometimes that plan is not visible. Sometimes we blame God for something bad happening to us. For example, a loved one passing away. Some people blame God wondering why he would take them away from us. We are testing God. We are asking him that if he is really God, he will help my grandmother live or my aunt get through this terrible disease. But we shouldn't put God to the test. He is the almighty God! God knows what will happen at the end, so he knows that he is doing something right!
Morality is the principle concerning the distinction between good and bad. These are responsibilities of choice. You need to be aware if the choice is right or wrong. As little kids, we did the Eenie Meanie Miny Mo game to help us choose between two or more things because we can't choose, it was just too hard! But as we grow older, we are responsible for making even harder choices. For example, high schools and colleges. We must make the choice of which school we think best suits ourselves. In addition, friendships and marriages. Which group of kids do want to hang out with? Who will be your perfect mate when you grow up? You do not want to hang out with or marry someone who will just get you into trouble or leave you at the end of the day. Also importantly, the choices we make when we have reached the finish line. When I say this, I do not mean when you actually reach the finish line. Sometimes in certain situations, you have to choose something that makes you sad or mad but sometimes the choice you make is better for another person. For example, on November 22, 2014, my Nina Roxanne, or godmother past away due to a seizure and terrible brain damage. She had been on life support but my family decided to take her off of it. The decision they made was a difficult choice, probably the worst choice. Although they did not want to make that terrible choice, they knew that it would stop my Nina's suffering. They knew there was nothing in there; just a body. It's hard to talk about this and not drown myself in tears.
So, how can we make good decisions as a Catholic Christian? But an important question here is: how can we help society make good choices? What can I do to encourage others? What will the outcome be if we all start making good choices? I feel like, as Catholic Christians, we must be enlightened and inspired by God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Sprit to help us make our choices. If we are inspired by God, then it will teach us and guide us to be like God too. We must follow in Jesus' footsteps. Once we do that, we must influence others to do that too! We must think twice before making a choice and think about the outcome in the end. If we do this, imagine a world where everyone would make the right choices! Nobody would be doing drugs, and nobody would be getting hurt! So I will leave you with this, you learn from your mistakes and remember the bad choices you make, and you choose not to make them again; because we can all do what we want to do.
*pause* So what will you decide? The choice is up to you.