Published: November 03, 2009 09:36 am      

Don’t waste time on ‘what if?’

A couple of weeks ago I admitted giving up neckties because, among other reasons, the Iranian president denounced them as a symbol of Western decadence. Although true, that’s an exaggeration for my decision to adopt casual dress wear.

Then I heard from a schoolteacher who reads my column in the Pharos-Tribune. He related an experience about being rejected from a potential opportunity based simply on the fact that he did not wear a tie to an interview.

He added this thought: “I still try my best to not judge my students by their looks or clothes. But, being human, I do wonder where my life would be today if that superintendent had been willing to look beyond a tie.”

Ever wonder about the decisions you have made and how different your life might be?

“What If” is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring “the road not traveled” by its various characters. The stories in the initial 1977-1984 series featured the alien “Uatu the Watcher” as narrator who was able to observe what transpired in alternate realities.

“What If? 2” is the second volume by Robert Cowley in which eminent historians imagine what might have been. Like its predecessor, this is an engrossing collection of essays on counterfactual history. Each contributor examines a pivotal event and then considers the ramifications had the event turned out differently.

Alfred Nobel woke up one day in 1888 to read the erroneous publication of his premature obituary, condemning him for his invention of dynamite. That error brought about his decision to leave a better legacy after his death.

The obituary stated, “Le marchand de la mort est mort” (the merchant of death is dead).

In the late ’70s, I interviewed at a church in McAlester, Okla. That fledgling church was trying to decide who their first pastor would be and their choice came down to a church camp friend and me. When my friend was chosen, I was crushed. The elder in charge explained that my friend required less salary because I had two children and he, a newlywed, had none.  

Then, about 10 years ago, my dad called to say that an armed robber had broken into Paul’s home and his wife had been shot (not fatally). How different my life could be today had that church chosen me instead of Paul.

Solomon understood that man’s desires and God’s designs do not always intersect. “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” (Proverbs 16:9, NIV).

In his song, “Unanswered Prayers,” Garth Brooks tells about a man who runs into his high school sweetheart at a football game. That unplanned meeting causes him to realize that his prayer wasn’t unanswered after all. Instead, he concludes that, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

So be careful about pursuing those “What if?” moments, and remember what Richard Needham says:  ”God punishes us mildly by ignoring our prayers, and severely by answering them.”

• Tony Thomas is a church pastor, a high school basketball coach and author of “A Smidgeon of Religion.” He can be reached through the newspaper at ptnews@pharostribune.com.