American professional football just held its annual championship game. The two teams competed well. The coaches prepared the teams with skill and ingenuity. The players individually played with passion and athleticism. It was thrilling with one team winning on the last play.
I scanned my few news sources the next morning only to see some reporter propose that the losing coach blew one or more decisions at the end leading to the loss.
This is a person who never did the hundreds of things that bring a team together that eventually plays for the championship. But the headline received many clicks, and he got paid.
How often do we sit on the sidelines second-guessing the people actually making the decisions and doing the work? The pastor screwed up again. Or the committee or organization leader fails to lead—to our satisfaction. But how often do we stand up and take the chance to lead? This second guessing leads to dissension and division.
Worse still is when we second guess ourselves. “If only” thinking can ruin our lives. We can live in despair for years with that thinking. Of course we need to learn from experience. How often we say “I’ll not do that again!” Beware living the “if only I…” life. It leads nowhere.
Faith Venture 
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