Recycle Email

September 1Multiple Choice - A-Maze-Ing
by Ed Young

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness…” (2 Peter 1:5-6).

We face a multiplicity of choices in the maze of life. Whether big or small, highly impactful or uneventful, the decisions that we make form who we are. And inversely, how we are designed, how we are wired will effect how we make decisions.

Our decision making styles and abilities vary greatly - from choosing what we think is best in the moment to stewing over the choices for far too long. Some of us even try to put off making decisions as long as we possibly can.

Christ, though, showed a perfect balance of patience, trust, forgiveness, obedience and decisiveness in choosing his actions and behaviors. The choices he made reflected the way God wants each of us to make decisions today. But how do we do this? How can we reflect Christ in what we decide?

Every time a decision presents itself, we should ask ourselves the same questions that Christ asked himself - some of which are macro questions, others are micro questions. We have to ask ourselves if our decision follows the guidelines of God’s written word, if our decision reflects God’s love, and if our decision is on God’s agenda. After answering these macro questions, we need to ask some micro questions - is the decision the best possible choice considering our past decisions, present conditions and future aspirations.

This week, run your decisions through the macro and micro funnels of the right questions. As you ask yourself these questions, your decisions will filter down to reflect a perfect balance of what God wants - a balance of the decision making styles that Christ reflected. And as you discover the answers that God has in store, you will be much better equipped to negotiate the maze of life.

For more information about making good decisions and other subjects, visit the Ed Young Ministries website: www.edyoung.org

(c) 2005 Ed Young Ministries