We've all made our share of impulsive decisions--some wise and some foolish. Life sometimes gives us little time to make up our minds and so there are times when the potential reward outweighs the potential risk. But while we may choose to be impulsive at times, this should certainly not be true of major decisions in our life. At such times, the path of wisdom is the path of careful consideration.
Every day, we're called on to make decisions. They come in all shapes and sizes--big, small, momentous, or insignificant. Every decision has an impact whether we realize it or not. Which is why our ability to make good decisions is so crucial. Making good decisions is part of doing the will of God.
Our focus in making decisions should be on the signs of a "good" or "bad" decision-making process. There are 4 components to good decision-making: Godly counsel, prudence, objectivity, and prayer.
Godly Counsel
Godly counsel is a key aspect to making wise decisions where there is no clear biblical mandate. Its importance cannot be underestimated. Where most people fail in decision-making isn't in seeking the counsel of others but in how they seek it and what they do with the advice they are given.
It's important to understand that more often than not we will receive the kind of counsel we want to hear, and not necessarily the kind of counsel we need to hear. It's not that we intend to seek out such advice, but it should naturally be expected. Why? Because when we seek advice, we often turn to friends and family who will generally agree with whatever we say and will be hesitant to bring up an opposing view for fear of upsetting us.
When we do seek advice from more impartial individuals, our natural tendency is to describe our situation in such a way that there is only one rational response--to agree! We tell others how things appear from our perspective, and that is exactly the problem! Our reason for seeking Godly counsel should not be to merely validate our own inclinations, but rather, to hear the opposite perspective of our own. When we fail to seek out an opposing view, we fail in our decision-making process.
We can't make a balanced decision without having heard convincing arguments for both sides. Of course, having heard arguments for both sides doesn't do much good without taking time to think about which advice is best. We have to choose carefully who we allow to advise us, and even more carefully what we do with the advice we are given.
Prudence
It's interesting that the Hebrew word translated "prudent" in the creation story is used elsewhere in the Bible to mean "crafty" or "cunning." Prudence and cunning are both result of wisdom, and can be used for either good or evil. In the hands of the unrighteous, prudence degenerates to become shrewd, scheming, and manipulative--as in the case of the serpent. But in the hands of the righteous, prudence uses the same skills to ferret out evil and exercise discernment, as when Jesus sent out the disciples instructing them to be "shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16)
So how do we exercise prudence when it comes to decision-making? First of all, we must slow down! The lack of a clear biblical mandate is not a license to impetuous decision-making. Important decisions require time and careful consideration and necessitate taking a methodical approach to the decision-making process. It means refusing to be satisfied with anything less than all of the facts before reaching a decision. This often goes against our own inclinations because doing so generally makes decisions more difficult than they would otherwise be. (And it prolongs our anxiety!)
A friend of mine told me of a wealthy woman he knew who had recently purchased a sport-utility vehicle. When asked why she decided on the particular make and model, she replied, "I liked the color." How strange to think that someone could make a decision of such magnitude based on so little information. But are we really any different? We are all prone to the same kind of impulsiveness that leads us to make decisions and judgements based on inadequate or inaccurate information.
Decisions are always easier to make when made out of ignorance--but they can also be the most costly. This is true of many things, but especially when it comes to our interactions with people. We are quick to label others and are easily satisfied by our own cursory assessment of their character and motives. In so doing we can make big mistakes.
Objectivity
Difficult decisions are often fraught with emotion. To urge that one should "not be emotional," when it comes to such situations is to oversimplify the problem. One might as well advise a person not to blink for the next hour. Our emotions are an integral part of our character that can't just be "turned off."
The problem, of course, is that our emotions can be easily fooled. A loss of as little as two hours of sleep per night is enough to make most people feel ill at ease over just about any decision they might face. The Bible offers really doesn't give any assurance that we will feel good (or to use the catch-phrase, "be at peace,") with every decision we make.
Sometimes God calls us into situations that may be very uncomfortable for us. When this happens, our emotions can easily be manipulated by our adversary. This is why relying on the so-called "gut" feeling can be so dangerous. It is our adversary's time honored tradition to stir up doubt in our minds and hearts. Why? Because it is both easy and effective.
The serpent's first words to Eve began with the words "Did God really say . . ." (Genesis 3:1). After the serpent had planted the seeds of doubt in Eve, both she and Adam became vulnerable to deception. But it's not just negative emotions that we need be wary of. Our emotions can be manipulated by pride as well as doubt. At the height of his power and prestige, King David did evil in the eyes of the Lord, first with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12) and later by commissioning a census (2 Samuel 24:1-15). This latter sin would prove very costly, as some 70,000 Israelites lost their lives to the plague that followed.
Solomon reminds us that the prerequisite for understanding is an "even temper." This is more than just being able to control your anger--it has to do with our character in both prosperity and adversity. Remaining objective in either case can be difficult.
It's not that we should be without emotion, but rather, that we should not allow our emotions to run roughshod over our decision-making process. The goal should not be to squelch our feelings, but to understand them. When we understand how our emotions can be manipulated we are then in a position to compensate for them as part of our decision-making process.
Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to a decision that involves a major life change of some kind. When we are faced with a decision of this sort, we will naturally feel a strong inclination to take as little risk as possible--to stick with the "status quo." In such situations, we often lack the perspective and objectivity to make good decisions.
There are few emotions more deceptive and powerfully effective in crippling our objectivity than the fear of change and the fear of the unknown. This is why we must be especially careful to question any decision we make in favor of the status quo and get good advice from objective counselors.
Prayer
I know a man who used to counsel college-aged students many years back. "Back then," he told me, "people would ask me for advice about some major decision in their life and I would tell them to 'just pray about it.'" Having lived through many long and difficult decisions since then, he confessed, "I don't say that anymore."
We have the freedom in Christ to present God with all of our troubles and worries, but we abuse this freedom when we impose on God our own agenda. So where do we draw the line between a test and a request? A "request" is a plea for God's help and intervention. A "request" becomes a "test" when it places God in the position where He must intervene--either to cause us, or to keep us, from some action on our part. The Bible encourages us to request, but it warns us not to test.
We should never neglect to pray about our needs and worries. But in the end, our prayers should always be that God's will be done. This is what it means to pray "in Jesus' name." Our hope and expectation should be that God will accomplish what He has set out to do, period. No strings attached.
There's no secret to making good decisions. When we utilize good decision-making skills we tend to make good decisions; when we exercise a bad decision-making strategy, we tend to make bad decisions.
Making good decisions has more to do with discipline than it does with intellect. Seeking Godly counsel, exercising prudence, remaining objective, and utilizing prayer are key to a healthy decision-making process.
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