Have you ever taken a wrong turn? The problem with the wrong route is that it leads to the wrong destination. This is so obvious as to seem trivial with regard to road travel, but do you see that the same principle applies to other aspects of your life? Can you see the long term consequences of the choices you make every day? The right decisions will not only be right for today, but for tomorrow, and for next year, and for the rest of your life, and forever. This may mean that your choices may be for things other than what is fun and pleasant right now.

Are you careful with your money and spend it wisely, insisting on the best value for what you spend? There is wisdom in frugality, but not all spending and value is monetary. Everyone suffers. Have you met people with a rare sense of patience and grace and realized that they didn’t get it from a life of comfort and ease? Would you reach the same conclusion about someone with a broken spirit and a contrite heart? Yet not everyone who suffers acquires virtue as a result. Suffering is more precious than money. Are you spending yours wisely to get the best value from it? 

Do you like to negotiate? In some cultures the price for everything is understood to be an asking price, and you can strike the best deal you can. In others most merchandise is priced as marked, with no room to maneuver, but the larger the purchase, the more there is some give and take, with offer and counteroffer until the buyer and the seller come to terms. Do you think that any spiritual parallel exists? You know that grace is a free gift, and you do not and could not earn your salvation. Recognizing this, if I wanted to sell you something, would you want to negotiate the price?

Do you have an alarm clock? Does it have a snooze alarm? This allows you to silence the alarm for a few minutes to postpone getting up. But why would you set the alarm earlier than necessary? Have you ever had a spiritual awakening? Did this come about because events in your life served as a wake-up call? Anything that causes you to be awake and alert and aware is beneficial, so you can be glad if the events in your life serve as a spiritual alarm clock. Have you ever hit the snooze button and postponed the opportunity to wake up? I’ll keep setting off the alarm as often as it takes.