When you’re facing a difficult decision, you have three options:
- Go it alone.
- Confide in someone who will agree with you automatically.
- Ask godly people who will speak truth with grace. Only one is good.
In Acts 15, the church was stuck. Leaders were trying to figure out how “Jewish” new Christians needed to be. The text says there was “no small dissension and debate.” So what did they do? They escalated the issue to their best leaders then those leaders took a trip to their best leaders.
Our nature is to surround ourselves with yes men/women who agree. I’ve seen this tendency ruin marriages and catapult people in the wrong direction. “I’m getting counseling” but it’s a bad counselor. “We feel called” but no one else feels it with you.
Here is God’s plan for decision making:
Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisors they succeed. Proverbs 15:22
Who are people in your life who will shoot straight? Who are your godly counselor who submit themselves before a higher power than making you feel good? Surround yourself with such people. When you’re making a big decision, ask Christians you know. Ask your Bible Study leaders, ask leaders in the church. Ask pastors and elders.
The world is complex which means decisions are complex. Detangle them through an abundance of godly counsel.
