You are different than your friends and co-workers, and neighbours. You now belong to Christ. They are still on the outside and have never surrendered to Christ. Their own desires, their own will and their own preferences dominate their thinking. Most often, they make decisions based on what would make them happy. But shouldn’t you, the Christian, now claiming Christ as the Lord of your life, have a completely different set of standards for making choices – small or great?
You will be pressured from many angles, even this month, to make choices and decisions. Perhaps you’re struggling with something right now in your life. You sort of know that the decision you make will not just be about some immediate activity. Whatever choice you make this time will likely be precedent-setting or direction-setting for you. If you say ‘Yes!’ this time, it’s quite likely it will lead to more yesses down the road – which, in the long run, may have a negative impact on your Christian life.
We have every reason to be cautious, as some choices can put us on a slippery slope. Here’s a spectrum from dead wrong to positively right:
- Is it dead wrong?
- Could it be wrong?
- Would some others think it is wrong? Who?
- Is it iffy?
- Is it neutral?
- Is it okay or mediocre?
- Is it good?
- Is it best?
The daily choices you make are not insignificant. Everyone must make them – even your not-yet-saved friends. But you belong to Christ. So, your choices need to be processed through a special filter: would my Bible encourage me to say yes or no? Is this choice pleasing to Christ, my Lord? That’s the Christian filter for questions like these: Should I go there? Is it a good use of my time today? Should I buy that? Will I enroll? Will I watch this? Will I listen to that? Will I do this with my body? Will I say yes to my friends? Etc.
The little daily choices may seem somewhat irrelevant or inconsequential to the bigger picture of your life and future, but really, they are not. Your life is coloured and your character is formed, and your direction is determined, and your reputation is flavoured by the thousands of ‘little’ choices you make along the way. So it’s not just the big decisions you need to be concerned about.
The Apostle Paul prayed for the Christians in Philippi that they would make choices that would be labelled ‘The Best’.
This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, So that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ…” Philippians 1:9-10 NIV
Learn to pray at the beginning of each day. Ask the Lord to work in your heart and your conscience as you read your Bible to develop convictions that will favour what is best – not what is good or even so-so but rather, what is best. How can a Christian discern or know or sense what is the ‘best’ decision?
- Our knowledge is expanded, and our insights are deepened as we talk to our Lord throughout each day about what’s on our plate for the day or week. The Spirit of God communicates with our spirit. Lay the whole thing out before Him. Talk to Him just as you would share stuff with a friend. Give Him the details, and He will respect your privacy. Once you talk to Him, don’t jump up off your knees or shut Him off and get on with your day. Remain quiet before Him and let Him work in your heart in response to your prayer.
- Our knowledge is expanded, and our insights are deepened as we become more familiar with the Word of God. The more we read the Bible, the more we will understand not only what God commands us to do or not to do, but we will gain insights into His character and start to think more as He thinks. Even when a commandment about something cannot be found, we will get the ‘pulse’ of God on right and wrong, good and bad, by systematically reading the Bible every day.
Much more can be said about choosing what is best and what is most pleasing to Christ. There will be two more emails about making choices and decisions in your new life as a Christian.
Assignment for today:
- Check out and think about these verses: Psalm 119:105, Romans 12:1-2, Proverbs 21:2, Proverbs 3:5-6
- Think about the prayer the Lord Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before He was arrested, condemned and crucified. Mark 14:32-41 Whose will did He want to do, even if it meant His death?
