Decisions, Decisions

One day in a small group someone asked, “If you could do anything in your life without any consequences or concerns of failure, what would you do?” You may believe that I responded by saying something powerful and spiritual but, I simply said, “I would love to fly (not on a plane but like superman!) Of course everyone laughed but later I thought; if I knew I could, would I? Decisions are complicated. Even deciding what to have for dinner can be complicated. If you don’t believe me, just ride, one time, in the car with me and my husband. Our conversation may go something like this: “Where do you want to eat?” One of us replies, “I don’t know; what are you in the mood for?” See, your decision can even be determined by your mood.

As light as I may make it sound, every decision has an action behind it; even no action really is an action (it says something silently).

I can remember being in Moscow many years ago, not long after the dismissal of communism. I remember seeing men and women picketing outside of the capital, declaring their desire for the return of communism. Being an American, I could not understand how anyone could want to return to the heaviness of communism. I could not imagine having my TV, water, heat, medical, and food supply determined solely by the government, even more, I couldn’t imagine wanting it. There is a difference between being forced into communism and desiring communism. So why did they embrace it…Because it is easier to live through someone else’s bondage than through our given freedom.

Decision demands the responsibility is placed on the one who makes it! Many people cannot handle that weight. Jesus taught us that any yoke that feels weighty is not His yoke. “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” So God does Yoke us to His purposes but not to weigh us down but direct us. Human yokes are humanity’s answer to subordinate and rulership. We must be careful that every decision we make we take ownership of that decision and live with the full reward or result rather good or bad.

It was Helen Keller who made this great statement, “People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.”

It is more pleasant sometimes to have someone determine your freedoms than to learn to live out and live in the freedoms we possess. In my paraphrase of Paul’s writings, “When I was a child I spoke like a child, but when I became a man I spoke like a man.” The key is, when you are child you do not desire to make decisions because you fear the outcome, but when you become a mature person you accept the idea that decisions become a defining factor in your life. Take a look at the following chart.

When making decisions are you more:

…worried about what others think?

… aware of how others will feel?

…Fact centered

…Truth centered

…Quick and take little counsel

…Processed and appreciate counsel

…Little understanding of effects of choice

…understands effects of choices

…rarely believes choices affect people

…Always believes choices affect people

We each should reevaluate our decision making strategies. Today consider…is the decisions I am making yoking me to God or weighty, faulty human efforts that captivate my attentions. One rough response from a frustrated friend can lead to a weighty yoke of resentment which leads to our decision to treat them in the same way or maybe a “white” lie that yoked you to a series of lies to cover the very “innocent” first one.

It could even be a decision to buy a house that wasn’t worth nearly what you paid or maybe it was worth more. Whatever the decision, my hope is that over the next few days or even weeks we will evaluate how we make decisions and remember that every major decision (not so much your coffee choice…though this can be quite difficult for me) expresses the past …the present …and the future.