Spontaneous vs. Predictable

When you think of the word predictable as it describes a person, do you think of dull, boring, repetitive… yawn! I always have too.

But I was listening to this radio preacher talking about Daniel the other day. Now Danny-Boy was as predictable as you get. Three times a day, facing Jerusalem, he prayed to God. No matter what temptation, even at the threat of death, he did the right thing. So it was easy for a few hoity toity officials to “trap” him into defying the edict of the King. They knew Daniel would be out on the roof, morning, noon, and night, praying to God. Predictable.

Daniel’s life was far from boring, however. Whisked away as a teenager to serve in the court of a foreign king, raised up to a position of prestige, and now, charged with treason for doing the same thing he had done every day of his life: pray.

Do you wonder what he felt when he was caught? Did he wonder what it felt like to be ripped apart by hungry lions? Did he feel a sense of betrayal, knowing his friend, the king, was responsible for his certain demise. Or was he confident that in God, all would be well?

Me, I want to be more predictable. I hope I don’t have to face any lions for it. I want to be someone that people can count on to do the right thing. I want to do what I say I’m going to do, even if it’s as small as send an email or make a call. I want to be responsible, reliable, and dependable, even if a lot of people don’t think those are very important qualities.

That doesn’t rule out spontaneity. To me, spontaneous is only bad when it’s a broken promise. Otherwise, let’s go! Let’s… okay I have no good ideas. Spontaneous living for me means I have no other plans… ie, what’s for dinner? Maybe you have a better handle on the spontaneous side of life. Will you fill me in?