Decisions are hard sometimes. Making the right decision can be even harder. We face all sorts of decisions everyday that we don’t think twice about, and then some, both of consequence and otherwise.
Like for instance the decision I had yesterday when a friend of mine called me up and invited me to join him for the Celtics-Mavs game tonight, which according to this poll, is the 2nd and 3rd best team in the NBA right now.
The situation: I have life group tonight (our small groups) and its at our house and I really believe in authentic community, and it’s italian dinner night and 100 other things on my mind. The other end: I love the Celtics (specifically the new Celtics). Always have. Ever since the 80′s when my dad and I would sit in front of the TV and watch Larry, Robert,and Kevin dual away at Magic, Kareem, and James.
So what decision do I make? I’ll tell you tomorrow, but I’ve learned this: Some decisions don’t have a right and a wrong answer. Some just are. You go with what feels right based on your past experiences, present circumstances, and future hopes and dreams, and “hopefully” represents the direction you want your life to go.
In this case, both answers in different ways represent a good direction.
What would you do?
Decisions that are the BEST decisions are not always the easy ones or the most convenient. Sometimes good decisions are easy, but not as good as the best decisions. When I first came to my present church in May of 1999, I decided that in any situation, as best as I could, I would put the best decision for the church ahead of the most convenient decision for me (I changed this slightly for marital purposes later on).
So when people would come to me and want to share their heart with me, but ask me to keep it in confidence, I would say (and I still say) that “anything you say is confidential, unless it places the church in any harm or risk, in which case it can no longer be just me, but others have to be involved, so now, feel free to tell me whatever you like.” or…
If someone decided to bash someone (like a leader in the church) to me, I would respectfully tell the one venting that the best thing for them and for me is to talk to the person they are venting about, and that they need to do it quickly. Typically this never went over very well.
Now as I sit in the chair I sit as the lead pastor of this church, occasionally I have to make decisions that are hard, and not easy. To be honest, sometimes it sucks. Sometimes the best decisions are not the easy ones, but they are the best. (at least I pray they are)
I think on this topic as I think about the message for this week, the third in a series about our spiritual lives as Christ followers (or not) called, “The road”. The easy part is not getting on that road. Not making the commitment to Christ. Not surrendering our will over to the God who created us. But that’s not the BEST decision.
The hard and the best decision comes after you’ve taken a step toward the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s where the journey gets difficult. Wow! My head hurts…and all this before lunch.
Until next time…
