Editor’s Note: You can read our previous articles in this series below:
Making Wise Family Decisions
Who is Ultimately Responsible for Family Decisions?
Foolish Ways of Making Family Decisions
More Foolish Ways of Making Family Decisions
Making decisions for your family can be nerve-wracking at times. For Christian couples seeking to honor God, we can often feel a weight on our shoulders navigating the many big decisions that come our way.
How do we know what the right decision is when there appear to be multiple good options?
What if we make the wrong choice?
In this series we’ve been examining what the Bible says about wise decision-making. Some decisions that we face have explicit commands in Scripture associated with them. However, many decisions we encounter fall into the category of gray areas where the Bible is silent.
A common theme that we’ve discussed is that God hasn’t given us a ten-step flowchart that spits out wise decisions in those cases. However, in his infinite wisdom, God has given us many principles that can help guide us in our decision-making process. Seeking to honor God in the following ways will ensure that we’re approaching the process of decision-making in the wisest way possible.
Fear the Lord
Description: Seeking to honor God in all things.
What Does The Bible Say About This?
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Prov 9:10
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Cor 10:31
Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Josh 24:14-15
When we talk about a Christian “fearing the Lord”, we are not talking about a slavish fear of God, because God is the Christian’s loving Father. Rather, when we talk about fearing the Lord we are referring to approaching him in humble reverence. The fear of the Lord is the North Star for all of Christian living and should be the starting point for all decision making. How can we honor God with everything we say, think, and do?
How can we approach this decision as a husband and a wife in a way that is pleasing to God? Will this decision be in obedience to God’s word? Will it glorify Him? Will it strengthen our walk with Him or will it hurt us? Starting with this focus will help orient the way you interact with each other in the process and will set the right foundation for the decision itself.
Know God’s Word
Description: Studying, internalizing, and treasuring the Bible so that you understand all that it teaches and how it can be applied to your life.
What Does The Bible Say About This?
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Ps 119:11
You need to actually know the Bible to understand if it says something explicit about a topic. If you don’t have a deep grasp of what the Bible says, you won’t understand if there are implicit principles that can be applied to your decision-making. If you don’t love God’s word, you won’t have a heart that seeks to honor him in your decisions.
While it’s not possible to have a perfect knowledge of every aspect of the Bible, that should be our heart’s desire. If you’re encountering a big decision, you can study what the Bible says about that topic to build up your knowledge in this area. Reading books by trusted Christian authors related to a particular topic can be very helpful to get a deep dive of what the Bible says about that topic.
Seek Wisdom
Description: Always seeking to apply God’s word to real-world situations and praying for God to bless you with wisdom from the Holy Spirit.
What Does The Bible Say About This?
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Prov 3:13-15
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
James 1:5
You must love wisdom to want to pursue it (see Prov 2:1-15). Wanting to be wise isn’t just about wanting to have all the right answers. It comes from a heart that loves God and loves His truth.
Besides Jesus, who in the Bible was known for their wisdom? Solomon. God granted his request for wisdom over and above anything he could imagine (see 1 Kings 3:3-14). He was wise in the law of God and he was also wise in how to apply it in the circumstances of life. Remember the example of the two women who were fighting over a baby (1 Kings 3:16-28)? That scenario wasn’t expressly outlined in the Mosaic Law, but Solomon used wisdom to come to the right way of approaching that situation.
To Be Continued
These are just a few examples of biblical principles for wise decision-making. In our final article in this series, we’ll look at several other principles, as well as an overarching view of the sovereignty of God that should bring us great peace when making decisions.