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Here’s a riddle:
Fifteen turtles are sunning themselves on an old log.
Six of them decide to jump into the water.
So how many turtles are still sunning themselves on the log?
That’s easy.
The correct answer is fifteen.
Wait: Didn’t we say that six of them decided to jump into the water?
We did.
But as leadership gurus Barry Kouzes and Barry Posner point out, deciding and doing are not the same thing.
Maybe you’ve decided that this is the year big things are going to happen.
You’re going to go back to the gym and start losing weight.
You’ve made up your mind to give church another try.
You’re going to keep your emotions in check when you end up in that same old argument.
You’re going to say no to temptation.
You’re going to say yes to listening more carefully.
You’re finally going to clean out your garage.
You’re going to initiate that uncomfortable conversation about money you’ve been putting off for months.
You’ve resolved to swallow your pride and reach out to that person who hurt you.
You’re going to begin each day by asking the Holy Spirit to fill your heart, and to supply you with the courage to live each moment for Jesus.
Those sound like great decisions.
But the odds are you have made those very same decisions before.
And little or nothing happened.
This year – with God’s help and by God’s grace – cross the line from deciding to doing.
“As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).
Take the plunge.
