Making Wise Choices

Knowingly or unknowingly, we make decisions every single day, every single moment in our lives! And those choices have consequences.

God Almighty gave us free moral agency. He gave us the power to choose. We are free to choose what kind of life we want to live, and what type of person we want to be.

We are the only creature on this earth truly capable of free will.

We can make a decision for good or evil, for right or wrong! When you come right down to it, we are a result of the choices we make every single moment of every single day.

The choices we make define us and our character. The decisions we make tell God a whole lot about the kind of person we are.

Every day we are making decisions. We are literally confronted with all sorts of choices.

There is great power in being able to make choices in our lives.

We can choose to be happy or miserable.

We can choose how we react to hard times in our lives with positivity or with negativity.

We can choose to take responsibility for our actions or blame others for our failures.

We can choose to be a triumphant victor or take on the role of a helpless victim.

Knowingly or unknowingly, we make decisions every single day, every single moment in our lives!

And those choices have consequences.

The Bible provides us with a very important principle, an essential and fundamental rule in making the proper decisions and the wise choices in our lives.

PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST.

Without this foundational guideline, any and all other steps will lead to failure with painful and very likely catastrophic results.

Putting first things first requires a humble acknowledgment that we — of and by ourselves — do not have the basic and natural ability to come to a right decision (John 15:5).

In fact, we realize that our focus on SELF leads us to make the wrong decisions!

But, man has decided he knows best. And he has chosen to go his own way and direct his own steps (Judges 21:25; Jeremiah 10:23).

Regrettably, for almost 6,000 years, the record of man going his own way and directing his own steps, has resulted in heartache, frustration and even death.

Putting first things first, therefore requires re-directing our focus to God’s ways, His truths, His laws.

We put God at the very core, the very pinnacle of our lives and stand in great fear — great respect and reverence — before Him.

We have this tendency to compartmentalize our lives. We break down our day into seemingly manageable chunks: work, chores around the house, errands to run and take care of the children.

As a result, prayer, Bible study, reflection or any meaningful spiritual activity becomes hit-or-miss, now-and-then or whenever we can carve out a piece of time for it.

Putting first things first re-orders our priorities and re-calibrates our thinking to seek first what God says to ensure our ultimate success, happiness and prosperity.

It’s going to take effort and determination to direct our thinking and make God the gravitational center of our lives. For us to choose wisely, we must let God in on every detail of our lives.

Acknowledging that He is the Source of ALL knowledge, and He alone can guide us to make the right choice that produces the most beneficial outcome (Proverbs 3:6).

As we seek Him in heartfelt prayer for guidance and counsel, in a humble and yielded attitude, we are assured He will direct us in the pursuit of the right course and away from the pitfalls of harmful, foolish choices (Psalm 25:4-5).

Most certainly, we have our part to do. We seek advice from sources we respect and trust. We gather all the facts.

However, by seeking God’s wisdom and direction first, we admit, we recognize that He alone can guide us to make that right choice.

By keeping the principle of first things first firmly chiseled in our minds and hearts, we are telling God, not my will but Your will.

Not my plans but Your plans.

I want what You want, Father!

Where You want me to be is where I want to be.

What You want me to do is what I want to do.

Every day we face choices and decisions.

Some are simply matters of personal preference.

Others are life-changing, major decisions which impact our lives in very significant ways.

By putting God first in our lives, by going to Him first in every decision we make — minor AND major — we have actually made God our number 1 counselor and adviser.

He’s become our partner in each and every endeavor, undertaking and decision.

And because we practice first things first, He himself promises to make our decisions result in our success, our overall well-being and our happiness. Here and now and for all eternity (John 10:10)!

So, let’s make sure God is at the forefront of our lives.

He wants us to succeed. He wants us to be happy and satisfied.

He’s prepared to help in every way.

So let’s involve God in ALL our decisions. That way, we are assured that we’re doing the right thing.

And, we will be headed in the right direction.

And we will end up in the right place every time!