decisions

“It’s your choice.” “It’s up to you.” “I can’t make the decision for you.”

You may remember a parent saying this to you or you recall a teacher’s counsel to you about a choice you were about to make. Most of the time, during my childhood, I had to learn the hard way, every choice carried with it consequences. While it would have been easier for me to blame someone else for the results of my choice, I learned that it was healthy for me to admit my choice that led to a success or a failure. This pattern doesn’t seem to be a model for our society today. When ruin or disaster takes place, I tend to look around for someone else to blame for the mess that I chose. Right now, our country’s leaders seem to be very intentional about denial of choices they have made, that have led to disastrous consequences.

Why do they do that? Why do I do that? Is it because I think the choices I make are my business and do not impact anyone else? Do I ignore certain given precautions about a choice to be made because I think those guidelines are for other people but not for me? Do I think that my choices are so highly spiritual that I cannot possibly make a mistake?  Is it because I am so independently proud that I do not need any advice? What choice is so unimportant I do not need to discuss it with anyone? 

I have a confession to make: The best choices I have ever made have always included asking God and asking others for help with that choice.

Consider these opportunities for your choosing:

• Ask Almighty God to guide your choice. (When Peter began to sink into the water instead of walking on it, his reaction was simple: Lord, save me! Ask Him for help.
• Ask your family members about their thinking of your choice. (You may be surprised at their insight.)
• Ask a trusted friend to advise you. (Actually, you may not have to do this because he or she may already be advising you without your request.)
• Ask yourself about the urgency of this choice being made. (Some decisions must be made quickly in emergency situations. The disciple Peter spoke quickly about this need for Jesus’ help. Most of my own choices have not had urgency associated with them.)
• When you ask God for help, He may want you to wait on His answer instead of demanding an immediate response. (Check Isaiah 40:31 for a consideration.)

The most important choice I have ever made was the choice I made to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. There were lots of Bible teachers who played a role in this choosing. They were not famous; they were not powerful or popular; they were not high-pressure folks nor threatening me with the hell-fires of damnation. They were steady parents, neighbors and friends who loved the Lord and longed to see me love Him too. I knew no one else could make that choice for me. I knew it was up to me. It was going to have to be my decision. The pattern in the New Testament reinforces the personal choice that every person made for himself or herself. So, yes, I decided. It was on a hot, muggy day when humidity was high and the aroma of the Fox River filled my nostrils in a church in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I walked forward at decision time, made my profession of faith, and was baptized into Christ in 1955. It was that single choice that has shaped the rest of my life, to this very day. How could I do that?

The answer is simple: God made me with the ability to make choices. Yup, I’ve made some bad choices and had to suffer the consequences accordingly. I’m guessing that you have too. But, when I come back to my choosing Jesus Christ, I’ve never been sorry. You will not be sorry either.