The Christian Journey: Decision Making

The Christian Journey:

Decision Making

Our lives are formed in great measure by the decisions that we make.  When we are small children many of the decisions are made for us, then by observation and experience we are prepared (we hope) to begin making decisions on our own.  Then as we age into our teens and early adulthood we are allowed to begin making more of these decisions for ourselves, unfortunately we are not always as well prepared for this as we would like.

The decisions in our lives span from the mundane such as what shampoo we might use or brand of ketchup to buy, up to those that have lifetime or eternal consequences such as who we will marry or whether to follow God or not.  This is difficult ground to cover without a solid foundation or thought process.  Most enter into these decisions purely from a perspective of doing what "feels" right, or applying an economic model such as cost-benefit analysis or risk-reward.  These can be good models as a part of the process, but for the Christian there is more.

Several years ago I was given the book, " Lists to Live By: The Christian Edition" which as its title would indicate is a book of various lists that might help us in forming frameworks or points of reference for our Christian walk.  Among those lists was, 8 Tests for Decision Making, which will form the basis for my discussion today.

Test 1 > The Scriptural Test - can the answer be found in scripture?  Refer to 2 Timothy 3:16

Test 2 > The Secrecy Test - would it bother you if everyone knew this was your choice?  Refer to Proverbs 11:3

Test 3 > The Survey Test - what if everyone followed my example?  Refer to I Timothy 4:12

Test 4 > The Spiritual Test - Am I being people-pressured or Spirit-led?  Refer to Galatians 1:10

Test 5 > The Stumbling Test - Could this cause another person to stumble?  Refer to Romans 14:21

Test 6 > The Serenity Test - Have I pray and received peace

about this decision?  Refer to Philippians 4:6-7

Test 7 > The Sanctification Test - Will this keep me from growing in the character of Christ?  

Refer to 2 Corinthians 3:18

Test 8 > The Supreme Test - Does this glorify God?

Refer to I Corinthians 10:31

While these tests may not help you decide what to eat at your next meal or which color of crayon to use when coloring with your child, they do provide a solid footing for making moral, ethical, and relational decisions that you will certainly face.  It is my hope that when you are faced with a difficult decision that something will click for you, and that this line of thinking will be triggered.  With this sort of framework it should be far easier to Make Today Great!

** "Lists to Live by the Christian Collection" by Alice Gray and John Van Diest