What We Can Take Away From the Henry Ruggs Heartache.

When you think about your life 5, 10, 20 years from now, how do you imagine it?

Many of us have heard the news about Henry Ruggs decision this week. But he didn’t just wake up one day and decide to get blasted, drive 156mph, kill a girl and blow up his life. He got there by making a million small decisions over a period of years that shaped his character and formed who he is.

It’s the same for all of us. Every day we make decisions that may seem small, but they ultimately determine who we are and how we respond to life and the people in our lives. Will I treat people with respect? Will I be a man of integrity? Will I compromise what is rightfor the approval of others or for money or something else? Will I live only for myself? These “little” decisions, and a million others like them, determine who we become. And the patterns we build into our lives are not easily undone.

I could give you a list of people (I know personally) who are very successful professionally, yet they have shipwrecked their lives because of their lack of character. And not just their lives, but the lives of their wives and children. (Our Sin always impacts others).

Life will test you; it will show what you’re made of. Your college years should be a time of character formation that will prepare you for the challenges that will come later in life. You will not wake up one day and magically be a man who is characterized by courage, humility, honesty, unselfishness, and self-control.

I do not know any pathway to these qualities except through Christ. He is all of these things and more, and His presence in our lives can transform us.

I’m writing this with pain in my heart for the victims family. I can’t imagine what they are experiencing. I also feel great heartache for Henry Ruggs as he has to move forward with the consequences of his decisions. In Christ, there is hope for both hurting parties. God is a comforter to those grieving and in pain. He is also gracious and forgiving to all of us, even in our biggest mistakes. The reality is all of us are one mistake away from being in Ruggs shoes. Our skill can easily take us to the top, but it’s our character that will ultimately sustain us.

May this be a reminder that life is precious, our decisions matter. In sports, you don't win or lose a game on a single play. The outcome is determined by all the little moments throughout. It's no different in life, everything we do eventually catches up to us. Who you become tomorrow is shaped by the choices you make today.

-These thoughts are in collaboration with a good friend, Chris Newport.