THINK BEFORE DECIDING

THURSDAY, 28 JUNE 2007
Reading: Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16

It seems that Abraham’s wife, Sara, was unable to have children. So she told him to have one with her maid. He did, much to his own grief. Sara made his life and the life of her maid and child miserable from that time on. It seems Sara changed her mind after getting her husband to do her bidding.

There are lots of ways these days that childless couples are having children. Maybe someday it will be possible by computer or over the telephone. But it is very evident that big problems can be caused by husbands and wives having children other ways than with each other. Abraham and Sara weren’t the only ones whose lives were upset by unorthodox birth practices and they won’t be the last. The practice has become and will continue to become much more sophisticated and scientific. One thing that remains the same is the existence of people who change their minds after the deed is done.

Sara wished she hadn’t told Abraham to come up with a child by her maid. Then she made Abraham wish he had never listened to her. But it was too late. If only they had thought this through before they acted. Good lesson for all of us. Before making any serious decisions, think through all the possible results and effects. Then determine if you can live with them. In the Bible we can learn from the mistakes of others who lived thousands of years ago. Are we really learning - or merely repeating?