In making a decision, do we do the right thing even if it is not advantageous? In everyday life, we often make fast decisions. But remember that it takes less time to make the right decision than it does to correct a poor decision.
To help us do the right thing, we should start our decision-making process by asking three questions:
- Have I prayed for wisdom?
- Is my contemplated decision in accordance with God’s Word?
- Is it consistent with Christ’s character?
Remember the story of Jacob and Esau? (Genesis 25:21-28). Jacob did not make the right decision. Instead, Jacob teamed up with his mother to deceive his blind father and cheat his brother out of his father’s blessing. Apparently, the only question Jacob asked himself was whether he would be caught in his deceitful act. Jacob thought, what if my blind father touches my arm and realizes that I am not my brother, who is a hairy man? Consequently, Jacob and his mother devised a scheme to place some goat hair on Jacob’s arm to deceive his father into believing he was his hairy son Esau.
Contrast Jacob’s action in not doing what was right with Daniel’s action (Daniel 6:1-28). Daniel did the right thing by not compromising when and where he prayed. Even after the King passed a law forbidding prayer to anyone other than to a statute of himself (or else the King would order the offender tossed to the lions), Daniel kept praying to the Lord three times a day through an open window as he had always done.
Daniel could have simply avoided praying to the Lord for 30 days. Or, he could have simply closed the windows while he prayed. But Daniel believed in God and continued doing the right thing.
Next time we need to decide whether to do the right thing, we should first pray for wisdom (James 1:5). Second, we should ask for God’s direction (Proverbs 3:5,6). And then, before we make the decision, we should make sure that it is in accordance with God’s Word and consistent with Christ’s character.