Making choices and decisions
Have you ever been in a situation in life and wondered how you ended up in that situation? You could almost swear you had nothing to do with it because you don’t ever remember having made the decision to be in that particular situation.
Most of us may be living lives we feel we did not sign up for. So who do we blame? Can we say that someone else is responsible for the way our lives turned out? Can we blame the man or woman that divorced us, the boss that fired us, the friend that betrayed us…? May be we should all blame Adam, who blamed Eve, who blamed the serpent. You see where it goes….
At least looking at history, we know that this blame game doesn’t work. So who then is responsible for how our lives turn out?
We are!
Our lives are a product of the various choices and decisions we have made over the years. Every time you look at any area of your life that you don’t want, you must realise that you have been making the wrong decisions in that area. Until you come to this understanding and are ready to take responsibility in changing your choices and decisions, you will never have the life you desire.
What makes the human species different from all other living creatures is the ability to make choices. Animals use instinct. Although humans have instinct (I hear it’s mostly in women), they also have the ability to make choices. It is one of the greatest ability and gift that God gave us. It is so important that even God himself, our creator, respects and honors it. He will never make choices for us and will always respect our choices. This does not mean he agrees with every choice we make but, he has fully given us this ability and it is ours to use as we like.
Every one of us must realize though that the choices and decisions we make are really divided into two categories.
LIFE and DEATH (Deut. 30:19).
Everything falls under these two categories. Things like God, blessings, success, good, wealth, health, happiness, peace, etc fall under LIFE, just as satan, bad, failure, sickness, poverty, turmoil, etc fall under DEATH.
It’s important to know that the decisions you make, come from the choices you make, which come from the information available to you. I hope I’m not confusing you. Let me try to explain what I’m saying by first giving you the definitions of choice and decision.
According to The Oxford Essential Dictionary,
Choice can be defined as, 1. Range from which to choose. 2. Power or opportunity to choose.
Decision can be defined as, conclusion or resolution reached after considering.
So, with the two words defined, let me try to explain how choices and decisions are made.
As we go through life, knowingly or unknowingly, we pick up information (or revelation) from different sources. We then turn around and make choices and decisions. This can be consciously or unconsciously. Just because you make a decision unconsciously doesn’t mean you are not responsible for that particular decision. By the way, if you remember, we said, that the decisions and choices you make are either ministering LIFE or DEATH.
So, what would be the best way to make the choices that bring LIFE (success, health, wealth, peace, joy, etc)?
Controlling the information you take in. You have the power to control the information you consume.
Did you know that the movies you watch, commercials on tv, bill boards, the books you read, the people you associate with, the church you go to, etc are all sources from which you get your information that influences the choices and decisions you make?
As children of God, the best source of information can be derived from the Bible. Psalms 1 refers to a person that meditates on the Word as a blessed man (woman), one that brings forth fruit in his/her season and one that prospers in all that he/she does.
I encourage you to develop a HABIT of spending time in the word if you want to make choices and decisions that tend to LIFE.
Remember that you are what you are and you are where you are in life because of the decisions you make.
Stay blessed and keep the faith!
Moses Kangave
