Decisions
As Ray and I were picking tomatoes the other day, I was struck by how many decisions we were making. Is this tomato red enough? Do I reach up here or down there? If I reach for this one, will I knock that one on the ground? Is that the one I just dropped or is it another one that has rotted from lying on the ground? Should I leave this one on the vine a little while longer? Should I go on and pick this one and let it ripen on the counter?
Isn’t life like picking tomatoes–one decision after another? I’m glad I can choose. I praise God that He didn’t make me a robot but gave me the opportunity to make decisions.
The other day Ray and I were talking about someone we love, whose decisions have made life a bit more difficult than it really has to be. Ray realized that this person probably has trouble making decisions. Sometimes–many, many times–it is easier simply to float along and let things just happen or stay the way they have been. Sometimes we make decisions by not making decisions. Decision-making takes courage. Not making decisions is not a very courageous or effective or faithful way to decide.
Our children need good examples of decision-making. Our decisions don’t have to be perfect every time. We can adjust later. It’s okay to pick a tomato that’s not quite ripe. I can always decide later to leave it on the counter. What if I were so afraid of making decisions that I stayed in the house and didn’t pick any tomatoes at all? Isn’t going out to the tomato patch and deciding to plunge in better than not going at all, even if I make a few mistakes while I’m there?
Walking in the steps of Jesus is a process of making big decisions and moment-by-moment ones. As I walk, I decide where to put my foot next, whether to walk slowly or quickly, whether to turn to the right or the left or stay on the path I am taking. I decide what I will see as I walk, what I will hear, and who will walk along with me. Another word for decide is choose. This is what Joshua said to the Israelites about that:
. . . Choose for yourselves today
whom you will serve:
whether the gods which your fathers served
which were beyond the River,
or the gods of the Amorites
in whose land you are living;
but as for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15, NASB
We live in a world that wants us to be like the Amorites in whose land we are living. It is up to us to make the choice for ourselves and our houses, that we will serve the Lord.
It’s amazing how timely your posts have been in the last two weeks. I was just praying about how to help my oldest with is “indecision” over just about everything. Thank you for the encouragement.