He faced a career decision, the young professional said, and he wondered if I could offer any spiritual wisdom. His years of hard work were paying off financially. Now another company was dangling a golden carrot to entice him to join them. The move would mean more money and less managerial responsibility, but more hours away from home and family. “My family,” he told me, “is more important to me than anything else on earth.”
“It sounds to me that you already know what you want to do,” I said. “But what if I turn down this opportunity now, and my own business goes sour some time in the future? Will I have hurt my family by choosing not to go with this other company?”
“We only live one day at a time,” I said, “and we have to make the best choices we can one by one. It’s much as when one takes a motor trip that involves driving at night. You can drive 750 miles through the night using your headlights, and the headlights only shine a few hundred feet in front of you at a time. But by the time you travel where you can see, the lights illumine a little farther. That’s the way God guides us in life. One day at a time. One decision at a time.”
We talked about seeking first God’s kingdom principles and trusting God to provide for our needs. “If you tell your children that you are making this decision because you treasure them more than money and want to spend time with them, do you really think they will ever criticize you for lacking the extra money you might have earned?” “No,” he replied. We closed in prayer and my friend thanked God for helping him apply spiritual principles to daily life.