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Make Up Your Mind

by Dee Bowman

Deciding is what man is all about. Free moral agency, in the purest sense, is deciding what to do. Man is blessed above all others of God’s creatures in that he is given the right of choice. It’s perhaps a bit simplistic to say it this way, but this coming year will be basically composed of a series of choices you will make. Some will be simple, some complicated. Some will produce happiness, some will bring sorrow. Some will have dire consequences, others little at all. But, all in all, the year will be a series of choices. Your choices.

God, in His mercy, has given us a standard by which to measure our decisions. That standard is fixed and immutable. It deals not only with the choices themselves, but assigns the attitudes that should appertain to them. That standard is basically comprehended in the enjoinder of Peter, the Apostle, who said, “if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God supplieth, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 4:11).

The decisions we make are predicated on the first choice we make—that of whom we will serve. “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:14-15). From the time that preference is decided, our choices follow along that course. Succinctly stated, we will make our choices based on whom we decide to serve. A man who decides to give his life to Jesus serves Jesus.  A man who decides to serve himself does so because he has determined to do so.  “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of  the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5). It’s as simple as that.

It behooves each of us to exercise great care in deciding how we will plot our course of action in the coming year.  There are four we need to consider before a decision: (1) Will it inhibit my flight toward God? (2) Will it tend to tarnish my influence? (3) Will it edify or simply satisfy? (4) Will it stop there? And what if it doesn’t? Look at them one at a time.

Will it inhibit my flight toward God? We are all involved in a journey toward God and we must allow nothing to diminish our efforts, or take us off course. Poor decisions will affect our flight pattern. It behooves us to take careful consideration of our decisions relative to our eternal destination.

Will it tend to tarnish my influence? Influence is a prized possession. It should be guarded tenaciously. Some decisions can diminish our influence, retard our effectiveness in the kingdom. Actually, about all you have is your influence. When it is dented, you can no longer do your best work among your fellows because you light becomes dim.

Will it edify or simply satisfy? It’s easy to make selfish choices, the kind that bring quick pleasure and impose little difficulty. And while they serve to keep us comfortable, they do little to cause progress in our spiritual lives, nor do they bring us closer to spiritual maturity.

Will it stop there? And what if it doesn’t? We must be aware that choices inevitably have consequences—they keep going. The choice itself may be a simple one-time thing, but, like a seed planted, it produces after its own kind. We can’t escape the consequences of our decisions, so we would do well to consider the possible consequences before making the initial choice.  A poor choice will invariably lead to something we don’t want at all. A good choice may lead to some difficulty, but its result is always favorable in the end.

No decision is so small that it doesn’t deserve consideration. It’s wise to make even the smallest decisions carefully because the method with which you make the little choices will likely form the habitude which produces the important ones. Be careful how you choose.  

Other Articles by Dee Bowman
What Does Your Heart Want?
Competition for the Mind
I am Fred's Emotions