Jesus told his disciples, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing himself. He can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” – John 5:19. I have determined to imitate Jesus. But as Jesus could not make any decisions by himself, why do I seem able to make many decisions based on my knowledge and experience? It urges me to review how much of the decisions I make every day are pleasing to the Lord. The Bible mentions three things that are not from the Lord (1 John 2:16). “The lust of the flesh” and “the lust of the eyes” are easy to understand. Every day, we are tempted by these two aspects through social media. As an educator, I am more alert to them; “The pride of life” often affects me more deeply. I found that when words like “Refer to what I have learned….” or “Refer to my experience in education….” came to my mind, I was making decisions with “the pride of life.” We all understand that knowledge and experience are nothing in a complex social environment. The over-stress on these sometimes makes us out of context. Decisions made after listening patiently are more responsive to human needs. Unfortunately, I only know how to listen to people’s needs but don’t know how to see what the Father does. I’m still learning how to obey God, not a human being.
