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Ben Brown > Not Sure You’re Making the Right Choice? 4 Questions to Ask
Making decisions causes Christians to do a lot of strange things.
Some Christians rush into decisions, some delay truly making any decision, and others look to biblical wisdom to learn how to make wise decisions. The Book of Proverbs can be summed up as, “Act slowly and ask quickly.”
But what do you do before you actually make the decision? Should Christians take inventory of their hearts and minds to see if they are making decisions in an unhealthy way?
These four questions are not to be considered as the four questions about making a decision, but rather, about checking your own heart and mind before you begin to make the decision. For processing decisions in a God-glorifying way, read Kevin DeYoung’s book, Just Do Something.
1. Am I running?
Several churches have been planted and shut, marriages commenced and ended, and kids born and idolized out of people running from pain. A wise friend once counseled me to make sure before making a decision that I had no bitterness against anyone involved in the decision.
If you have a grudge, are bitter against anyone, or have a tense relationship in the mix, deal with that business before making a decision. Don’t bring your unresolved pain to your next relationship, job, or church.
2. Am I lonely?
Loneliness can cause the sanest of men to make the most irrational of decisions. It’s easy to move, to get married, and to have a child out of your loneliness. Get any friend around a fire pit late at night and you’ll find nearly everyone is lonely and a lot of their life is spent medicating their loneliness.
Loneliness causes us to lust after sex, money, fame, and power. If you make a decision in your loneliness, you will not be pursuing the glory of God, but your own appetites.
3. Do I truly feel at peace about my state of being before making this decision?
Somehow this has became the most practical part of how I make decisions. If something simply “feels dirty” or if I don’t feel “all there,” I aim to not make decisions. The Puritans were wise to believe that man’s conscience is a gift from God for how we should live our daily lives.
If you are wanting to take a job, people are advising you to take the job, but your conscience isn’t clean, it may be wise to thank the Holy Spirit for a tender decision and decline the job offer.
4. Am I in “the dip”?
Several thought leaders have written about “the dip.” In ministry, business, and life there are seasons that are unfruitful, unenjoyable, and simply don’t present a worthy cause for staying. It may be wise for you to leave while in “the dip,” but you at least need to do the hard work of finding out if you are in the dip and if you’re simply reacting.
Join the conversation About Ben Brown
Ben Brown is the Director of Operations at The Mission Church in Renton, WA. Ben can usually be found on a mountain trail with a backpack or at Safeco Field waiting for the Mariners to reach the playoffs.
