Making good choices …

I was recently using my laptop to get some work done in a Starbucks when I caught the tail end of a conversation between two baristas.

As one of the baristas was walking toward the door to leave, another barista called out, “Make good choices!”

The first barista responded, “I will” and then left the building.

I had just witnessed a great encouragement of one person to another — make good choices! After all, there’s little that impacts our life more than the choices we make!

How do you handle making the choices you face in your life?

People often struggle with how to “make good choices,” as demonstrated in this story by Donna Paciullo …

• In my search for an assistant, I had narrowed the applicants to two women. One had more experience; the other was more personable. I headed for my boss’s office, still undecided. Realizing I needed help, he produced a quarter, saying, “Heads, It’s experience. Tails, it’s personality.”

He flipped the quarter into the air and then asked, “Quick! What are you thinking?”

“Tails,” I blurted.

It was true. I had been wishing it would come up tails.

The quarter landed in his palm and without looking at it, he said, “Call Personnel with your executive decision.”

In the story, it wasn’t the flipping of a quarter that produced a choice, that only revealed what the fellow wanted to choose but had been too hesitant to do so. Flipping coins isn’t a reliable way of making good choices, so what is? Here are a few steps to consider to help you make good choices:

Start with God. It’s always best to have God be part of our choice-making from the start, rather than after we’ve crafted our own desires. Beginning with God by spending time in the Bible and in prayer allows Him to shape our desires that influence the choices we make.

Determine the truth. Gather all the facts pertaining to whatever you have to make choices about. Identify what is true and not true about the possibilities before you.

Discover options. In most cases, we aren’t faced with a single choice about a matter but multiple options. Identify all the options you have so you can know what all the potential choices are.

Deliberate. Now that you have the truth, all the facts, and the various options before you, you can deliberate by asking some questions:

• • What choices align with scripture?
  • What choices glorify God?
  • What choices benefit the kingdom of God?
  • What choices help, and what choices harm, your testimony as a disciple of Jesus?
  • What is the “cost” of each choice?
  • What choice do you initially prefer, and why?

These are only a few of the questions you can ask to help you deliberate over your options. This is also a good time to seek wise counsel from godly people you trust.

Make a decision. Before making a decision, go back to God with all that you’ve learned from your deliberations and the counsel you’ve sought. Again, seek His direction through His Word, and talk to Him in prayer. Then, as confidently as possible, make a choice.

Act on your choice. In the story about the man who hesitated about making a choice of which person to hire as his assistant, he knew internally which choice he preferred, but nothing happened until he acted on making his choice. Once you’ve made your choice, take action to actualize it.

Give thanks. Now that you’ve made a good choice, take time to thank God for guiding you through the situation to a good choice.

What steps are you currently taking to make sure you’re making good decisions?

Scotty

P.S. Related to making good choices is the act of solving problems. For a simple model for solving problems, read my blog post on that topic by clicking here.