Making better decisions

Christians have five ways

Q

"Recently Pastor Allan preached on poor decisions leading to terrible outcomes. Is there any way to reduce that risk, and make better decisions?"

A

Here are five ways to reduce risks of terrible outcomes from poor decision-making:

Consider the plumbline.
Consult the Scriptures.
Consult trusted friends.
Consult God.
Consult your confessor.

Consider the plumbline

You might remember that the Old Testament lesson on that Sunday reported a vision of the prophet Amos. He saw a plumb line that God lowered among his people to show their crookedness. In my sermon I spoke about my conscience as God's "plumb line" in our lives. When I'm making a tricky decision, I find it helps to keep my conscience engaged in the decision-making process. It often has a significant bearing on the result of my decision-making!

Consult the Scriptures

If your conscience doesn't conclude your decision-making, consult the Scriptures, Bible Reading which contain a great range of truth from God that might also inform your decision-making. Consider whether any of Jesus' parables addresses the issue at hand. Or in your prayers, ask God to direct you to an appropriate Scripture. Or use the Concordance in your Bible to see whether there's a relevant heading. Or type in the topic on your electronic Bible search engine and see what comes up.

Consult trusted friends

One of the great benefits of

belonging to a Christian community is that God often uses other members of the Body to advise us in our decision-making. One of my favourite questions for my family and friends is "What do you think?" It's also a great way to build relationships because it shows trust and respect in the other person's point of view.

Consult God

I don't always think of

just asking God to inform me in my decision-making, but it's a very effective option. God doesn't always answer straight away, but it's amazing how often a helpful response just 'pops into my head' after I've struggled with an issue and asked God in my prayers "What do you think, God?" (often as I've tossed sleeplessly in the middle of the night!).

Consult your confessor

Despite all my efforts to avoid poor decisions, I still make poor decisions (a healthy reminder of my moral frailty!). This is when I find having a personal confessor is helpful. I have a monthly appointment with my confessor and I regularly use that appointment to confess my poor decision-making. Upon my confession, my confessor speaks God's forgiveness to me, and relieves the burden of my guilt. Sometimes he also directs me to some actions that might short-circuit the bad effects of my poor decision-making.

Pastor Allan's July 12 sermon is available for listening online as STP-531 at

http://www.stpaulsboxhill.org.au/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,32/

ANY QUESTION is a column where you can ask any question anonymously, and we'll find someone to answer it. You can email your question to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; leave a note in the Westhorp pigeonhole; jot a "Question for IS" on a message card in church; or have an off-the-record chat with an IS team member.

Pastor Allan Heppner

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Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 August 2009 )

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