Radio Transcript

The ABC’s of Decision Making

Broadcast Date – September 16, 2001 on KCXY (Y95) - 95.3 FM

Decisions, decisions. We make them everyday! Many of the decisions we make are very minor. For example, what will I eat for breakfast? What kind of toothpaste will I use? What kind of car will I drive? Will I part my hair on the left or the right? Or perhaps, no part at all? Will I drink my coffee with cream, or without? What kind of shoes will I wear, lace-ups, or slip-ons? Where will I take my family for vacation this year?

I could go on and on. I’m sure you could make a list of your own similar decisions. These decisions are, at least in view of eternity, inconsequential.

But other decisions we make are of greater significance. Where will I work? Will I be married? If so, whom will I marry? Will I have children? If so, how will I provide for my family? Will I be a Christian? Not just a Christian, but a faithful Christian. Will I study the Bible? Or will I look upon God’s word as a trivial matter? These decisions have far more lasting consequences. Some of these decisions have eternal consequences.

How should we arrive at the decisions we make? While a "flip of the coin" may be a satisfactory method of making some decisions, no reasonable person would want to make a major, life changing decision in such a haphazard manner. Decisions of any real significance involve serious thought and deliberation. Obviously, it’s possible for a person to make not only wise choices, but unwise choices as well. How can a person know he has made a wise decision? Let’s consider a few tips that should be helpful in the decision making process. What I call, the ABC’s of decision making.

First, ALWAYS be AWARE of others. Consider the tragic decision of Achan, recorded for us in Joshua 7:1-26. In Joshua chapter six, God had given the Israelites instructions as to how they were to be victorious in capturing the city of Jericho. Notice God’s instructions to Joshua in Joshua 6:2-5: "And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns; and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him"And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns; and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him."

God had also stipulated that when the city of Jericho was captured all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron were to be consecrated to the Lord. Not one of the Israelites was to keep these things for himself.

After taking Jericho, the Israelites next step was to take the city of Ai. However, the Israelites met with unexpected resistance. Thirty-six Israelites died in the battle.

Joshua mourned over the Israelites’ defeat. Listen to Joshua’s words of despair, recorded in Joshua 7:7-9: "And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?"

God explained to Joshua that the Israelites’ loss was due to their sin in the camp.

Joshua began an inquiry in order to find out whose sin had caused the defeat before the city of Ai. Joshua began with the heads of the tribes, then with the heads of the families, then the heads of the households in succession to one family, then to individual persons within that family. It wasn’t long before Joshua found the guilty party.

As it turned out, Achan had let his greed get the best of him. Achan confessed that he took a garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight. Achan buried them in the earth in the midst of his tent. When Joshua sent messengers to Achan’s tent, they found the spoils buried right where Achan said they were. After the messengers took these things to Joshua, Joshua took Achan, along with his sons and daughters, to the valley of Achor. The children of Israel then stoned Achan along with his sons and his daughters and afterward burned them as God had commanded (Joshua 7:15).

But notice Joshua 7:1 – "the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing." It was Achan who had sinned. But Achan’s sin had brought disgrace upon the whole nation.

The decisions we make affect far more than just ourselves. The choices we make often affect our parents, our spouses, our children, our coworkers, our friends, and our neighbors.

Second, when making decisions, always BASE your decisions on your BELIEFS. Consider the cowardly decision of Pilate, recorded in Matthew 27:1-26. When the chief priests desired to have Jesus killed, they brought him before Pilate. It was customary to release one prisoner of the people’s choosing. When Pilate asked the people who they wanted to be released, Jesus or Barabbas, the people responded, "Barabbas!"

Pilate then asked, "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?" They all demanded, "Let him be crucified!" After having Jesus scourged, Pilate delivered him over to the people to be crucified. Before doing so, Pilate took water and washed his hands, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it." Pilate was fooling himself if he thought he could clear himself of guilt so easily!

What was Pilate’s downfall? He believed Jesus was a just and innocent man, and rightfully so. But, lacking any real convictions, Pilate chose to give in to the demands of the majority.

Unfortunately, there are still many today who base their decisions upon the latest polls, never committing themselves without first holding their finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. We ought to make our decisions according to what we know to be right, even when it means going against the crowd.

Third, when making decisions, always CONSIDER the CONSEQUENCES. Think for a moment of David and his rash decision to commit adultery with Bathsheba (II Samuel 11:1-12:23). One evening, David rose from his bed and went out on the roof of his house. While there, he saw Bathsheba, a very beautiful woman, bathing. When David sent for Bathsheba and committed adultery with her, Bathsheba became pregnant.

David then devised a plan whereby he would try to conceal his sin. David sent for Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, and told him to go to his house. But Uriah refused to do so saying, "The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing."

David then wrote a letter to Joab, instructing him to place Uriah in the heat of the battle. Joab and his men were then to retreat from Uriah, allowing him to be killed. Joab and his men did so and, after Uriah’s death, David took Bathsheba to his house and took her for his wife.

But God was displeased with what David had done. When God sent Nathan to David, Nathan told David a story of two men in one city, one rich and one poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

When a traveler came to see the rich man, the rich man did not take from his own flock and his own herd to prepare a meal for the traveler. Instead, the rich man took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it as a meal for the traveler.

When Nathan relayed this story to David, David became greatly angered. David insisted that the man that had done this thing should surely die. In addition, David said the rich man should restore to the poor man fourfold because of what he had done without pity.

Nathan then told David, "Thou art the man." Because David repented and confessed his sin before God, he was forgiven (II Samuel 12:13). Nathan told David that the Lord would put away his sin.

But God’s forgiveness did not eliminate the consequences of David’s sin. Listen to the words of II Samuel 12:14 – "Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die."

Friends, David’s decision to commit adultery with Bathsheba had tragic consequences, just as our sins have grave consequences today. The apostle Paul wrote, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). Men not only reap the consequences of their sins while they are yet on this earth, but for all eternity as well.

Fourth, DECIDE according to DESIRE (God’s desire that is, not your own). Always be concerned about what is God’s will in any particular matter. In First Thessalonians 4:1, Paul wrote, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more."

Jesus set an example for us when he was determined to please his heavenly Father. Notice Jesus’ words in John 8:28-29: "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him."

When a person fills his life with Christ, there is simply no room for selfish ambition. Jesus taught, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:24-25).

In Romans 14:7 Paul wrote, "For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself." As Christians, our aim should not be to please ourselves, but to please God.

Fifth, EXAMINE Christ’s EXAMPLE. In Philippians 4:9 Paul wrote, "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." Notice the boldness of Paul’s statement. We often say, perhaps only half jokingly, "Do as I say, not as I do." But Paul was in essence saying, "Do not only as I say, do as I do!"

Was Paul boasting? Was Paul being arrogant? Not at all! In I Corinthians 11:1 Paul wrote, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." Paul knew that we are to imitate him only to the extent that he imitated Christ. Paul knew that Christ is our ultimate role model in all areas of life. When we observe how Christ lived, we see how we are to live.

How can we make the proper decisions in life?

o always be aware of others

o base our decisions on our beliefs

o consider the consequences

o decide according to God’s desire, not our own

o examine Christ’s example

I thank you for your attention today and hope you can be back next week.

Rod Halliburton