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“What If?”
“What if?” This is possibly the most annoying question of all time.
I asked Artificial Intelligence (that’s what “AI” stands for) if this question was the most annoying of all time, and AI said, “No.” More annoying questions exist. They include “What do you do for work?”, “How much money do you make?”, and “When are you getting married?”. Others include “Are you okay?” and “Why are you so quiet?”.
Granted, those other questions are certainly annoying, but to me, it’s the “What If” that I think bothers most people. “What If” sends us down a rabbit hole of decisions or events that changed our lives. Usually, "What If" revolves around poor or questionable decisions we made, or situations of pain and grief, and we're wondering if we did them right.
Oh, I don’t mean, “What if” he or she didn’t die. That’s not helpful for us to consider, because humanity is fragile and we certainly can’t bring them back. All of us feel that pain in one way or another, so let's protect ourselves and not go in that direction.
Instead, I’m referring to decisions we made, whether intentional or accidental, that changed our lives. It could have been a major event or the smallest detail, but the resulting pain is big and still haunts us years, years later.
Next week, I’m starting a new Bible Study that explores some questions that Jesus asks. The questions aren’t particularly difficult, but they certainly can open a different perspective on some important topics. A question like, “Who Do You Say That I Am?” which Jesus asked Peter in this past Sunday’s sermon, is simple enough for some people (August 23, 2026 https://longboatislandchapel.org/streaming/. Make sure to listen to the Scripture reading for that day.) However, as we’ll find out next Sunday, there's much more to the answer than we anticipate. (August 30, 2026, same bat time and channel.)
After Jesus entrusted the disciples with carrying on God’s work, I’m guessing that they played a lot of “What If” games with each other and themselves. I’m assuming that unless they could clear those hurdles, they would not have been able to move forward.
This much we know: We wish we had done lots of things differently. “What If” still haunts us. However, unless we accept God’s forgiveness and find a way to get over the guilt of “What If”, we’ll continue to sink to the bottom of the mudhole. God doesn’t want that.
Instead, God wants us to make the most of whatever and wherever we are. Instead of regret and resentment, what if we let God forgive us? What if we forgive ourselves? What if we stop allowing yesterday to determine tomorrow? What if the most important “What If?” isn’t about what we could have done differently, but about what God can still do with and for us now?
“What If” doesn’t have to be annoying. In fact, it may be one of the best ways to learn how to live a faithful life moving forward.
What if we do that?
See you Sunday! God Bless, Brock
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