Something you won’t regret …

I’ve had regrets.

I hope you have, too.

That’s because the “no regret” mantra is a dynamic sounding platitude, but it’s not a good way to think or feel.

If you’ve ever hurt someone with poorly chosen words, disappointed someone by not keeping your word, or broken the trust someone had in you, regret can then be a healthy thing. Regret is a part of sorrow for having hurt another person, including yourself.

The key is to not get stuck in your regrets, but to move forward from your failures and strive to live — as best we can — a life that doesn’t continue to generate regrets.

Kind of like William Borden (pictured), the heir to the Borden Dairy estate, who in 1904 graduated from a Chicago high school a millionaire. His parents rewarded him with a trip around the world. Traveling through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe gave Borden a burden for the world’s hurting people.

Writing home, he said, “I’m going to give my life to prepare for the mission field.”

When he made this decision, he wrote in the back of his Bible two words: “No Reserves.”

Turning down high paying job offers after graduating from Yale University, he entered two more words in his Bible: “No Retreats.”

After completing studies at Princeton Seminary, Borden sailed to China to work with Muslims, stopping first at Egypt for some preparation. While there, he was stricken with cerebral meningitis and died within a month.

A waste! some say.

Not in God’s plan.

In his Bible underneath the words “No Reserves” and “No Retreats” Borden had written the words “No Regrets.”

You will never regret answering God’s call on your life, regardless of the costs you may have to pay to answer it. Living in obedience to the will of God is the way to truly live without regrets.

Scotty