A Difficult Task

Decision Making

How long halt ye between two opinions?—1 Kings 18:21

Some people are impetuous and quick to make decisions. As a result, they often make incorrect ones. Others are cautious and more calculating and slow to arrive at a choice. As a result, they frequently miss opportunities and stand forever at the crossroads.

On the one hand, Joshua challenged the nation of Israel with the words, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15); on the other hand, Jesus cautioned his disciples with the admonition, “Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28).

Ruth was instantly decisive when she told Naomi, “Whither thou goest, I will go” (Ruth 1:16). Gideon was more analytical when he twice put forth the fleece to determine the Lord’s will (Judges 6:37-40). Some decisions are easy to make; others are more difficult. How do we determine the Lord’s will for us?

When asked this question, George Muller of the Plymouth Brethren (1805-1898) wrote, “I seek in the beginning to set my heart in such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord’s will, whatever it may be. Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If I do so, I make myself liable to a great delusion. I seek the will or spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone, without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the holy spirit guides us at all, he will do it according to the Scriptures, and never contrary to them. Next, I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God’s will, in connection with his Word and his Spirit. I ask God in prayer to reveal his will to me aright. Thus by the prayer to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to deliberate judgment according to the best of my knowledge and opportunity, and if my mind is thus at peace, I proceed accordingly” (Reprints, p. 4468).

While this is an excellent suggestion, such an approach often competes with spontaneous decisiveness that has been a hallmark of many other Christian lives. The apostle Paul was quick in many of his decisions. The Ethiopian eunuch was instant in his decision when, traveling with Phillip and crossing a stream, he said, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” (Acts 8:36). Caleb was equally resolute to enter the Promised Land despite the formidable foes the nation would have to face (Numbers 13:30), and again when, at the age of 85, he requested Joshua’s permission to conquer Hebron, the strongest Canaanite fortress (Joshua 14:12). It was the impetuous Peter who was rewarded for his quick acknowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah by being given “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16:16-19).

While some of life’s most serious decisions, such as the resolve to give one’s life to the Lord, and the choice of a spouse, may require due consideration, they cannot be continually deferred lest the opportunities pass. Such decisions may well be made using George Muller’s advice. Other decisions, perhaps momentous as well, should be made more quickly, sometimes instantly.

The Key to Decision Making

The key to making these decisions properly is instilling the principles of righteousness into one’s mind and quickly applying them to the choice one must make. “What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose” (Psalm 25:12). Thus, a Christian who knows he has committed himself to the service of God, need not ponder long about accepting such services divine providence proffers. Nor are decisions between right and wrong in moral matters to be submitted to continuous analysis, but made resolutely.

This is not to say that all such decisions are easy, or even that they will always be made correctly. It is a true adage that “a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again” (Proverbs 24:16). It is not a mortal sin to take the wrong path at a crossroads in life; but it can become so if, after discovering it is the wrong road, to lack the humility to admit the course is wrong and reverse one’s steps. A seven-fold rising again must follow the seven-fold falling of the just man.

Butter and Honey

An interesting text is found in Isaiah: “Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good” (Isaiah 7:15). The Septuagint translates “that” as “before,” which agrees with Darby’s “until.” In other words, the eating of butter and honey precedes the knowledge of the distinction between good and evil. J. C. Sunderlin suggests that the butter and honey are put for evil and good respectively (see Reprints, p. 443). Thus the thought seems to be that experience with good and evil precedes the ability to discern between the two.

This calls to mind the anecdote of the wise man who was approached by one of his disciples with the question, “Master, how did you get to be so wise?” “By making good decisions,” responded the sage. “But how did you learn to know which were good decisions?” the disciple persisted. “By experience,” he answered. “And how did you get experience?” “By making bad decisions,” the old man replied.

Decisiveness is a strong asset in character-building. When decisions are made correctly, they produce a sense of well-being. When the wrong decisions are made, they provide opportunities to learn valuable lessons. King David provides a classic example of someone who made a wrong decision. His sin with Bathsheba was of the greatest magnitude, involving as it did adultery, lying, and murder. It was a sin that cost him dearly when the child conceived with Bathsheba died. Yet he remained “a man after [God’s] own heart” (Acts 13:22).

Accepting Consequences

God’s permission of evil is not only a valuable way to teach mankind the benefits of serving truth and righteousness rather than error and wickedness, it is also an instrument to teach the consequences of wrong decisions. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7) is a succinct statement of the moral law that every action has an equal reaction. It is a true adage that the mark of maturity is the willingness to accept the consequences of one’s own actions. Once the price for an error has been paid, much profit is gained if the lesson learned is applied to future decisions.

Well did the young man Elihu say to Job, “Let us choose unto us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good” (Job 34:4). Adam Clarke catches the thought with these words: “Let us not seek the applause of victory. Let our aim be to obtain correct views and notions of all things; and let us labor to find out what is good.”

May every Christian base his decisions in an endeavor to obtain a correct view. And let each labor to make the right decisions in life, finding out that which is good.