Living a Make-the-Right-Choice Life

Landing on one choice over another can be frustrating, at least for indecisive me.

Last fall I enjoyed visiting the increasingly famous Silos in Waco, Texas, but was purchasing an item from Magnolia Market worth waiting in the lines that snaked through the store? What if I didn’t buy anything and later regretted it? What if I waited in line and then asked myself why I wasted so much time to purchase what’s also available online?

The sweater calling my name came in two colors I liked, but did I want virtually the same sweater in my winter wardrobe? If so, did I want to spend double the money? I created a third choice to further drive myself crazy: I could let the sweater go.

If a dollar magically appeared in my bank account every time I finished a restaurant meal and thought, I wish I had ordered what I wanted in the first place, I’d probably have the funds to buy a dozen sweaters and fly back to Texas for another shot at an on-site Magnolia Market purchase.

Maybe we’re not all so indecisive, but we all make choices more significant than my sweater-buying, line-standing, and menu-agonizing dilemmas. We make choices that help determine what kind of life we live. And lest you think I’m being judgmental, let me assure you I’ve been guilty all down this slippery line.

Choosing between what’s legal and what’s not criminal

Driving over the speed limit is enticing—either because we want to get to our destination as soon as possible or we feel the need for speed right down to the proverbial heavy foot. Besides, depending on where we live in the world, speeding might be considered a mere infraction, not a felony that will land us in jail. Still, when we see that interstate sign that says the speed limit is 70, do we risk 80, telling ourselves we don’t want to cause an accident when all the drivers around us seem to think they’re on Europe’s Autobahn (which, by the way, does have speed limits)? I’m mostly a rule follower, but I’ve been guilty of speeding, and jaywalking too. So many not criminal choices are clothed in selfish rationalization.

Choosing between what’s foolish and what’s wise

When I was fifteen and a pastor’s daughter in the know, our church board hired a youth director. I hadn’t met him, but deciding to impress, I walked up to a group of church girlfriends relaxing on the grass of our high-school campus and announced I’d heard this new guy was young, single, and good-looking. A young-looking male who’d been talking to some of the guys from church, said, “Uh, that would be me.” I never considered how foolish even non-bad-mouthing gossip could be, and embarrassed doesn’t adequately describe how I felt.

Choosing between what’s wrong and what’s right

No matter how much we don’t want it to be true, we sometimes choose to do what we know is wrong. We can’t make excuses with “everybody does it” or claims of youth or ignorance. Every day we’re faced with decisions that will result in either strengthening or weakening our integrity, our commitments, or our relationships. It’s possible, of course, to make a mistake, catch ourselves, and ask for forgiveness by those affected and God. But sometimes we deliberately choose a road that can lead to a next wrong choice, then another, risking a desperate fall into a quicksand of calamity.

Engage in a little “harmless” flirtation that could turn into more? Or honor, respect, and fully guard marriage vows?

Tell a white lie that can quickly demand another? Or humbly face embarrassment or shame with the truth?

Let sarcastic remarks fly, causing unintentional hurt? Or say nothing until emotions calm?

Pridefully ignore wrongdoing, making a fall into that quicksand nearly a sure thing? Or own it and ask for forgiveness.

Making the right choice is easier said than done, especially if we try to do it in our own strength.

In Romans 7:18–19, Paul addresses this human dilemma, citing his personal experience: “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (NIV). Paul makes it clear that our bent toward sin makes living a make-the-right-choice life no easy task.

In Romans 7:24–25, however, he proclaims the lift from quicksand available to us all: “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death [from sin]? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (NIV). And in Romans 8:9 he says, “You are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you” (NLT).

God’s Word tells us we’ll fail to do what’s right if we don’t rely on his Spirit, bringing clarity and wisdom, instead of relying on our own assessments and strength. Surely living a make-the-right-choice life will be more about victory than failure if we let the Spirit of God control us.

Here’s a thought I’m contemplating for myself: I can’t be perfect, but maybe seemingly innocuous yet not right actions show God a lack of “good faith.”

Jean Kavich Bloom is a champion coffee drinker and a freelance editor and writer for Christian publishers and ministries. She doesn’t garden, bake, or knit, but insists playing Scrabble is exactly the same thing. Jean and her husband, Cal, live in central Indiana. They have three children (plus two who married in) and five grandchildren. She blogs at bloominwordstoo.blogspot.com.

Photograph © Prudence Earl, used with permission