Never Rush into a Decision 
Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 08:43AM
J. Mark Jordan

In creation, God equipped man with a uniquely human trait of decision-making.  Animals do not have the cognitive faculties to be able to consciously process decisions.  They act instinctively, as with a built-in, automatic reaction to anything that happens in the realm of nature.  Although we may love them and think they are thinking, especially when they look at us with their cute, quizzical expressions, they are really only acting to stimuli in the proximity of their environment.  

You, on the other hand, get up every morning and decide what you are going to do.  You decide what you are going to wear, what you are going to eat, if you are going to be early, late or right on time.  You decide the route you are going to take to get someplace.  You get the picture.  Hundreds of little decisions need to be made to do something simple. 

Then there are bigger decisions.  Are you going to buy that car?  That house? Get that insurance?  We have elevated decision-making to the point of being sacred.  Remember these words?  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  (It is ironic that the people who are for aborting life call themselves “pro-choice.”  They deny choice to unborn children that they hold dear for themselves.) 

Years ago, I had to obtain the power of attorney for my mother.  She was no longer capable of making her own decisions, so I had to take care of her.  Her condition required me to place her in a care facility.  Three years later, her health declined to the point that I was called to sign a Do Not Resuscitate document. Suddenly, it hit me that the decision-making power I had over another human being was one of the heaviest responsibilities ever laid on my shoulders.  I had to decide whether another human being should live or die.  It was terrifying! Decisions like these must be made with all gravity. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14. 

Let this sentence soak in.  God gives us the privilege, the responsibility, the opportunity and the obligation to choose our eternal destiny.  We decide whether we are going to obey the Word of God.  We decide who is our God!  Consider for a moment the awesome privilege afforded us.  God leads us to an old rugged cross and tells us to gaze upon the sacrifice of His sinless form as the blood drains away and asks us what we are going to do about it.  We decide if we are going to take salvation seriously or brush it aside as immaterial to living real life today. “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’ And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.” Acts 26:28-29. Two grave warnings are in order here:   

First, you must know enough before you decide.  Research, don’t rush.  Shouldn’t you get as much information as you can before you choose a college?  Shouldn’t you explore all the angles before you move across the country for a job?  What about marriage? Or, going into business?  But, when it comes to the soul, why do people handle the decision so casually?  Your eternal destiny is at stake!  How can you possibly know the best choice to make?  This is how: When you can’t know the circumstances, you have to know your God! “For this reason, I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”  2 Timothy 1:12. Doubt dogs every decision.  Let go of your doubt and grab hold of His hand!

Article originally appeared on ThoughtShades (http://www.jmarkjordan.com/).
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