Decisions, Decisions

According to various studies people make about 612 decisions each day. Some are involuntary where the brain sends messages to your body to follow through on and others are voluntary because you have to make a conscious choice.

When making these voluntary decisions the basic question most people use to decide is, "What will benefit me the most?" Of course, this is the correct question to ask if your life is all about you, and your home is this world. However, if you are part of the Kingdom and for you to live is Christ, there are several other questions you need to ask yourself if you want to make the right decision.

Question #1
How will this affect my Faith?

If Faith in Christ and obedience to Him are what bring us into and keep us in the Kingdom, then any decision that would weaken our faith should be avoided. Very few people lose their faith in one single day. Loss of faith usually happens as we compound bad decisions that make the practice of our faith increasingly difficult until we become cold and indifferent to spiritual people and things.

Question #2
How will this affect my family?

Next to faith the most important gift and responsibility given to us is the care of our families. Decisions that lessen family ties, separate us from our spouse, or jeopardize our fidelity are inherently bad decisions.

Question #3
How will this affect my future?

Many people justify selfish or foolish decisions because of opportunity. They ignored the downsides of certain decisions with the argument that a "door of opportunity" has opened for them (and assume that God has done this). But Satan can also provide "open doors" that may look like opportunities but in reality, are simply snares to weaken faith or destroy families.

In the end, a Christian's hope is to leave this world and be with God forever. The final test for any decision really comes down to only one question, "Will this help me and my family go to heaven?" Answering this question honestly will help us make consistently good decisions that will please God, strengthen our faith, and bless our families.