The danger of marginal thinking

“On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads.... They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers.  They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.”  Nehemiah 9:1-3

So how do we find ourselves in these situations, anyway?  What path ultimately leads a people to itchy clothes, dirty hair, lamenting their ancestors, and standing for three hours to listen to the Law?  And a good portion of another three hours in confession!

In his book, “How Will You Measure Your Life?,” Harvard Business School professor

Clayton Christensen applies business principles to our personal lives.  Among them is the danger of reaching moral decisions on the basis of “marginal costs” instead of “full costs.”  That is, it is easy to compromise our values “just this once” when there is seemingly little harm in one little indiscretion.  And the upside of momentarily “misplacing” our moral compass can look pretty promising!

But when we look upon a lifetime collection of “just this once” exceptions, only then do we understand the “full cost” of marginal thinking – a life far afield from what we thought it could be, not even close to what we wanted it to be.  Scratchy clothes, filthy faces and weeping in regret … they’re nothing compared to suffering a life of unwise decisions and their unintended consequences.

Avoiding such ruin is not that difficult.  God’s word is full of wisdom, warnings and promises.  It is clear and reliable, given to us in love and written in our hearts.  Ours is simply to trust it, embrace it and build our lives upon it.

Day by day.  Moment by moment.  Decision by decision.

[Read today’s text, Nehemiah 9:1-8 in the NIV or The Message.]