Checking the parameters of the setting ought to be one of the unavoidable preliminaries to each of our actions. In other words, before taking any action whatsoever, it is important to ask oneself whether the setting is favourable to it.
By setting we mean a soil fit for the emergence, the flourishing, the germination of various favours, blessings, materializations and/or accomplishments. The work of making sure that the setting is favourable amounts to reviewing several criteria whose purpose is to make the answer an optimal one.
The setting, let us be clear, is not merely a matter of space or of place. It brings together three (3) fundamental elements:
1- space: is the place I find myself in suited to the action I intend to take?
2- the moment: is the instant I am in favourable to what I want to do or to say?
3- the person across from me: is the person facing me in a sound and normal frame of mind to receive, in a positive and kindly way, the message I have to pass on or the action I am about to take?
Putting each of our actions and each of our words through this triple check may seem trivial, but the benefits to be drawn from it are countless. Thought through properly, everything and absolutely everything is open to the question of whether the setting is favourable or not.
Everything is a question of setting:
Travelling is a question of setting: is the destination chosen the best one? Is the moment well chosen? Do I have the funds necessary for it?
Studying is a question of setting: will I flourish in this discipline? Does the university I have chosen offer me good conditions? Is my current financial situation suited to my leaving work for a year or two?
Getting married is a question of setting: do I have the maturity it takes? Am I sufficiently prepared financially? Is this woman the one for me? Will this man make me happy?
Getting divorced is also a question of setting: is the moment well chosen? Is the reason worth it? Am I prepared to live through the days that will follow in a stable way?
Even being a senior manager is a question of setting: did I make the right choice of ministry? Am I emotionally ready to endure the tensions and the assorted misunderstandings? Is the moment of hiring favourable to my skills?
Etc.
The question of whether the setting is favourable may seem a light one, and may even look like a catch-all. And yet it is its fundamental, all-purpose character that makes it adapt to every situation and always guide us in making informed decisions.
It is important to finish by stating that beyond the setting there is the divine will, for those who believe and have faith.
Our responsibility as limited human beings is to create every humanly possible condition and to leave the rest to God. Indeed, what we cannot control must not affect us. Once we have made sure that the setting is appropriate, it is fitting to cast our burden upon Jesus and let go. Thus, "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5.7).
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