Making Decisions

Each of us has a primary way to make most of our decisions.  For example if our car is old and starting to cost money for repairs and lost time we will weigh the decision to buy another.  If we decide to buy another, then we consider questions like—car? pickup? van?  Once that decision is made we consider Ford, Chevy, Dodge or whatever.   (But, of course, the most common way of buying a new car is when your brother-in-law tells you of a really good deal you better jump on.)

We usually don’t think of the psychology behind decision making (or the psychology behind anything else), but there is one.  When it comes to decision making there are five ways we can know things.  First is “Sensory Data,” that is touch, taste, sight, etc.  For example we can tell a brick wall by how it looks, tastes or by running into it.  Second is “Authority,” this is when we take the counsel of someone we admire.  Maybe a parent, doctor, pastor or even your uncle Fred; based on their experience and knowledge you can be confident or at least well-informed about your decisions.  Third is “Reason” which is basically figuring it out yourself.  For example, if you are making barbeque sauce and it tastes funny, you add some salt, sugar or whatever it needs to make it taste right.  You simply use your know-how and experience to solve the problem.  Fourth is “Intuition” which is that good old fashioned gut-feeling.  This is hard to explain, but if you’ve had a gut-feeling, then no explanation is necessary.  The fifth and final one is “Revelation.”  Revelation is when God tells us what to do. 

One way God speaks to us is, simply that, speaking to us.  At times with an audible voice, at times quietly in the stillness of our heart, both of these are wonderful, but both can be dangerous. Dangerous because not every voice we hear is from God and certainly not every inclination of our heart is from Him either.  God also speaks to us through other people, but we should weigh every bit of counsel we receive from others against the written Word, as not every practical idea is a godly idea.

The primary way God speaks to us is through the scriptures.  From the pages of the Bible we may not learn every particular detail we want to know, but we do learn about God’s character, and by understanding His qualities and expectations we can understand what He wants from us in every situation.  Jesus, of course, was the best at explaining this, for example in Matthew 5:21-22 He said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”  From this we learn that not only does God want us to avoid murdering, He also wants us to avoid character assassination.  So if we are wondering if God wants us to speak harshly about someone, we know the answer is ‘no.’ (A little something to consider as we watch the political ads.)

Galatians 5 gives us one of the lists of don’ts and do’s, the don’ts are “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.”  The do’s are, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”   Then we are challenged to keep in step with God and avoid being “conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”   When we have check list passages like these, it’s easy enough to know what God wants from us in these areas, but what about more complex issues?  What does the Bible say about life on other planets or does God care who I vote for?  How should I deal with depression?   Or a spouse or parent who abandons me? 

Sometimes life is simply overwhelming and we are missing the answer.  When this is the case here are a few faith facts to keep in mind:

1. God tells us to be wise, James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him”.  That’s pretty simple; if you don’t know what to do, ask God.  My experience has shown that God gives us an answer or gives us peace with not having the answer, either way He gives us all the wisdom we need.  A word of caution, there is a big difference between knowledge and wisdom.  We can have a ton of knowledge, but if we don’t use it wisely it is of little use.  In the same manner you can have a little knowledge used wisely and do great things.

2. God tells us to be loving, 1 John 4:7, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God”.  This is not loving as in “being in love” with someone; this is love as in extending charity, kindness and compassion without any expectation of being repaid in any way.

3. God tells us to be faithful, Proverbs 3:3, “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.”  The idea that we are supposed to be faithful to God is a no brainer, but how we show our faithfulness to God on Earth is by showing faithfulness to people.  We do this when we remain faithful to our church, family and friends.  We cannot separate our faithfulness to God from our faithfulness to His people, they always go together.

4. God tells us to be righteous,             1 John 3:7, “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous.”  What does it mean to be ‘righteous’?  Verse 8 goes on to explain that, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”  So does God ever tell us to sin? No.  No matter how practical it seems.

5. God tells us to have tenderhearts— Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  There are lots of ways to treat people, but being tenderhearted is the way God approves. 

How do you make your biggest decisions?  If you are in tune with God’s revelation you will find your big decisions are quite manageable just by living out these faith facts.  Receiving revelation from God is not a mystery, but it does require reading the Bible and understanding its content.