Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Take a moment before making a decision

Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).

"Just do it." That’s the advice advertisers give us. "Just do it." That’s the kind of advice that often gets us into trouble. Making hasty decisions usually leads to bad results. Buying the first car that catches your eye without taking the time to shop around can be an expensive mistake. An impulsive decision to sleep with someone can result in a sexually transmitted disease. How many politicians have you seen get into trouble for speaking carelessly, resulting in a public statement where they try to control the damage by ‘clarifying’ what they meant?

We Americans are raised to be impatient. One-hour dry cleaning, drive-through windows and instant messaging are wonderful conveniences, but they chip away at our ability to take things slowly. Many video games demand the player to make split-second decisions. Many offices expect their employees to multi-task, with the result that no individual project is given the serious thought it requires.

We see the results all around us. The moment that the President finishes a speech, opponents are ready with a rebuttal, even though there has not been enough time to properly analyze his message. The news media give us only the bare bones of a story, believing that we don’t have the attention span needed for deeper consideration of the issues. People get married on a whim, try drugs without considering the consequences, get into fights because they let a moment of anger take control of them.

Our being in a hurry plays right into the hands of Satan. When we make snap decisions, we don’t take time to pray and ask God for advice; when we "just do it" we don’t wait for Him to guide us. In our hurry-up world, God calls on us to slow down; in the midst of our frantic multi-tasking, our Lord tells us to listen to Him.

If you are struggling with a decision, the fact that you feel torn should be waving a huge red flag. More likely than not, you are considering a course of action that will cause problems for someone else, is irresponsible, or will endanger the health of your body, mind, or spirit. Rather than ‘just doing it’, a far better course is to stop and pray, asking Jesus to guide you into making a wise decision.

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