Hmmm...
Sleep in? Shower? What to wear? Boxers or briefs? What to eat? What to drink? What to do this weekend? Who to talk to? Who to date? College? Work? Sex? Drugs? Drinking? Decisions, decisions…
Every day you and I make several decisions. Some good, some not so good. Every decision results in something. Something good, something not so good. The decisions we make are influenced by a ton of things as well: Our values, our family, our friends, our enemies, our preferences, advertising, role models, convenience, timing, our state of mind, our mood, just to name a few. Today during my journaling time, I read a verse that jumped out at me…
“I don’t do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, THEN I decide. You can trust my decisions because I’m not out to get my own way, but only to carry out orders.” John 5:30 MSG
Jesus says these words and I can’t help but think, “Do I listen, and THEN decide? Do I make decisions to get my own way sometimes?” If I’m honest, I have to say no, I don’t always listen, THEN decide. And yes, I do make selfish decisions that can’t always be trusted. Often times, I decide something, and then try to find someone (anyone) who agrees with my already made decision so I can feel ” better” about my decision, and choosing to ignore everyone else who is trying to talk sense into me by disagreeing with my decision. Does that make sense? I’m sure I’m not alone here…
I want to be like Jesus in this area. I want to listen, THEN decide, not the other way around. Don’t you?! Whether it’s a simple decisions about what to wear, or a big decision about who to date and when, we should be people who listen first, then decide. If we can form this habit during our “smaller” decisions, we will be more likely to use it when making our “bigger” decisions. Who do we listen to? More often than not, we listen to a world that is constantly changing, and stands for nothing. Who should we listen to? God for one, but also the people in your life that you look up to, or those who you hold in high regard. These people may not always agree with you or your decisions, and their advice may not jive with what you’d rather hear or do, and it may feel like a “lecture”, but if you believe they’re in your life for a reason, you may want to consider listening to their advice. We all have things we want to do, and all have plans we want to see succeed. Check this out…
“Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail; take good counsel and watch them succeed.” Proverbs 15:22 MSG
Pretty clear aint it?! In the end though, no matter what advice we’re given, the decision we make will always rest with us. But so do the results of that decision. Even the decisions that seem small sometimes, may have bigger results in the end, results we may not want to deal with. So why rush into a decision? Listen first, THEN decide. After all if Jesus chose to listen, BEFORE he decided anything, shouldn’t we do the same?!
-J-