January 25, 2015
Decision Making NOTES NOT EDITED--EDITOR IS TOO EXPENSIVE!
Psalm 62:5-12
SIS—Learning to make Godly decisions is a key element in living an
effective, satisfying life.
Do you need a good toilet
brush? Go to Amazon.com and type in
“toilet brush.” You will get 20 pages of
choices including, “The Boston Warehouse Giraffe Toilet Brush”—a must for every
home. Someone apparently has counted the
number of choices of toilet brushes sold by Amazon and came up with 1000, 100,
and 61 different toilet brushes. Is
there a problem in America I am not aware of?
People have studied the relationship between choices and anxiety and
they have come up with some unusual findings—at least, I was a bit surprised.
Researchers have found that
the more choices we have, the mor anxiety
we feel about someday regretting the choices we have made. I would have thought it would be just the
opposite. In a famous jelly study in
Palo Alto, California, two tasting booths were set up in a grocery store. One booth had six choices. The other booth had twenty-four choices (four
times more). The results of the study
showed that people were six times more likely to buy a jar of jelly if they saw
six, than if they saw 24. Too many
choices were actually paralyzing.
With all the choices and
decisions we are faced with today, it is encouraging to know that God’s Word
has a lot to say about making Godly
decisions that lead to a more effective and more satisfying life. Let’s read together an outline of the
three characteristics that make up a good and godly decision-making strategy.
PSALM 62:5-12
Characteristic #1:
Good decisions require Proper Priorities
A person’s welfare in life,
not to mention eternity, is directly proportional to the place that God has in
one’s priorities. If God is not one’s
top priority in all matters at all times, all of a person’s efforts ultimately
come to nothing.
Connect verses 5-6 with
verses 7-10 and you will see this principle clearly:
5 Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope
comes from Him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my
stronghold; I will not be shaken.
…………………………….
9 Men are only a vapor; exalted men, an
illusion. Weighed in the scales, they go up; together they are less than a
vapor.
10 Place no trust in oppression, or false
hope in robbery.
If
wealth increases, pay no attention to it.
When we put anything above
God in our list of priorities in life—anything, including family, career,
pleasure, or anything—we commit a grievous error and break the very first
commandment. Anything that takes God’s
place in first place is an idol. That
grieves God greatly. It also harms us
tremendously. No matter what we do in
life if we do it in our own way and for our own desires we sabotage our
happiness and endanger our eternal souls.
At the time of the prophet
Haggai, when the people of Israel were supposed to be rebuilding God’s House,
the Temple, after it had lain in ruins for 70 years during the Babylonian
exile, the Israelites were instead engrossed in building fine houses for
themselves. God cried out to them
through Haggai,
4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to live
in your paneled houses, while this
house lies in ruins?” 5 Now,
the Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully
about your ways: 6 You
have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough to be
satisfied. You drink but never have enough to become drunk. You put on clothes
but never have enough to get warm. The wage earner puts his wages
into
a bag with a hole in it.”
Not making God the “top
priority” in every decision you make is “counter-productive.” Notice how our text describes this same issue
that Haggai addresses.
According to Ps. 62:10, a
person’s efforts without God have the force of “vapor.” If you weighed all of mankind on a scale, it
would be like weighing air! Notice also
in verse 10 that a man (or woman) without God will stoop to any level to
accomplish their vain purposes. People
without God “oppress” and “rob” to get what they want. But the result of all this effort amounts to
nothing more than a bag of air. Making
decisions without God as one’s top priority is counter-productive, not only in
this life, but in eternity.
The only way to live a
successful, satisfying life is to put God first. Make God the top priority in every
decision—big or small. Look again at
verses 5 and 6. Twice the Psalmist calls
for people to put God first. Verse 5
says, “God alone” (Elohim ak). Verse 6 repeats this admonition, “He alone” (Hû ak). The little word translated “alone” (ak) means, “exclusively or utterly.”
People err greatly when they limit God’s attributes to only love,
kindness, or mercy. God is love,
kindness, and mercy to the infinite degree, but He is more than just love,
kindness, and mercy. God is also a
“jealous” God. Exodus 20:5 reminds us:
For
I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.
Good decision making that
leads to good results requires that one make God “top priority” in life.
It is very easy to let
other people or things take top priority.
I remember reading about a young businessman. The young man had become quite successful in
his business and bought a brand-new top-of-the-line Lexus. He parked his brand-new Lexus in front of the
office, ready to show it off to his colleagues. As he opened the door, a truck
came along, and completely tore off the driver's door! The young businessman immediately
grabbed his cell phone, hit speed dial for 911, and had a policeman there in 3
minutes. Before the cop had a chance to ask any questions, the man started
screaming hysterically. He had just picked up the Lexus the day before, and now
it would never be the same, no matter how good a job the body shop does. After the young man finally wound down from
his rant, the cop shook his head in disgust and disbelief. "I can't believe
how materialistic you are," he said. " You are so focused on your
possessions that you don't notice anything else." "How can you say such a thing?" the
young man responded indignantly. The cop
replied, "haven’t you noticed that your left arm is missing from the elbow
down! It must have been torn off when the truck hit you."
With a note of horror in
his voice the young man screamed in shocke, “OH, NO!" Where is my Rolex?"
Get your priorities
right. Put God first in every decision.
Characteristic #2:
Good decision making requires Patient Trust
The primary theme of this
Psalm is “trust”—more specifically, “trusting in God.” Trust is an extremely important aspect of life
in general. I’m sure that you have heard
someone refer to the problems another is having a as “trust issues.” Trust issues can lead to all kinds of
problems in life, especially with regard to personal relationships.
In verse 8 we have the
Psalmist’s direct admonition to trust God:
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
pour
out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge.
Throughout this psalm, the
psalmist provides numerous images that depict God as being “trust—worthy.” Verse 1 describes God as “my rock” and “my
stronghold.” The word, “rock,”
refers to a huge boulder or even a cliff.
The word stronghold in the original language could be translated as “a very high place,” as in a place of
security. Verse 6 repeats these two
images in an almost identical verse. The
Hebrew style of writing would use such repetition for emphasis.
Verse 7 adds an emphasis to
the rock solid nature of God by calling Him a “mighty (uzzi) rock.” In verse 8 the Psalmist calls God “our
refuge” which means
“shelter.” Then in verse 10 the Psalmist
uses the same word translated, “trust” in Verse 8. The Hebrew word for trust (batach) is used at least 48 times in the
Psalms. It refers to the feeling of absolute security and safety because one
has placed themselves in good hands.
Some of you may recall a
sermon I preached two, or perhaps three years ago titled, “A Penny In My
Pocket.” From that day I have always put
a penny in the right pocket of my pants.
I never put anything else in that pocket. The penny is pretty much useless as far as
purchasing power is concerned, but the message on the penny is priceless: “In God We Trust.” This is our national motto inscribed on all
our money. This week, I discovered that
I am not the only person that realized there was a priceless message on our
money.
Apparently there is a very wealthy
man who had no need for pocket change, yet he still took the time to bend over
and pick up lost pennies and other coins. Whenever the man found a coin he
would stop look at it in his hand, then after standing quietly for a moment, he
would then put the coin in his pocket and continue walking. He was once asked
about his unusual habit. “Why does a man who has no need for money stand still
as though he had just found a gold coin?” The man replied, “When I find a coin
I look at the words, ‘In God We Trust,’ and I can hear God asking me, ‘Do you
still trust me?’ Once I’m certain that I still trust God more than money I can
continue with my day.”
Good decision-making
requires trust. Trust requires patience,
however, so that we do not get out ahead of God as we live our lives. Verse 5 (which is nearly identical to verse
1) is difficult to translate directly from Hebrew. Literally it says, “For God alone, my soul, you
become silent.” The idea expressed
in most Bible translations is “waiting without anxiety,” or “patient
waiting.” The word for “silence” in this
verse is the same root as the word used in regard to Elijah waiting in a cave
to hear the voice of the Lord.
11 Then He said, “Go out and stand on the
mountain in the Lord’s presence.” At
that moment, the Lord passed by. A great
and mighty wind was tearing at the
mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in
the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After
the earthquake there was a fire, but the
Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper.
Literally, it could be
translated that the voice of God was a “small silence.” Or, as a songwriting duo put it, Elijah heard
“the
sound of silence.” The point is
that we must not be so hasty in our decision making that we muffle the voice of
God with our frantic activity. Remember
what old Ben said in Poor Richard’s Almanac:
“Haste makes waste.”
Now, if you find yourself
one lonely evening standing in the middle of a set or railroad tracks and
suddenly a bright, monocular light is bearing down upon you . . . by all means,
jump off into the bushes and wait patiently for further instructions from the
Lord. Otherwise, you will be speaking
with the Lord face to face.
But, in most cases the
first step we must take in decision making, after we have our priorities right,
is to patiently wait on God and trust unreservedly that He will speak to you
and give you the information you need to make a decision that will glorify Him,
and bless you.
Which, brings me to my
third characteristic of a good decision-making strategy:
Characteristic #3:
Good decision making offers Promising Prospects
This is really why we want
to get our priorities right and why we must patiently trust God to give us the
answer to the questions we face in life.
Such a decision-making strategy offers unbelievably promising prospects. Look at verses 11-12:
11 God has spoken once; I have heard this
twice: strength belongs to God, 12 and faithful love belongs to
You, Lord. For You repay each according to his works.
The Psalmist uses a
beautifully structured sentence to demonstrate the certainty of God’s reward
for those that make godly decision. The
Psalmist declares, “not once, but twice I have heard of God’s strength and love.” The Psalmist goes on to declare that
based upon the surety of God’s strength and love, we an be certain that God
will repay
each according to his works—which I might say arise out of his godly
decisions. Every action begins with a
decision. If we “obey,” God will
“repay.”
Would you indulge me to
share a poem I heard many years ago and I have shared more than once from this
pulpit. That’s a rhetorical question for
literary purposes so I’ll not wait for your answer.
Who
does God's work will get God's pay
However
long may seem the day
However
weary be the way
No
mortal hand, God's hand can stay
He
may not pay as others pay
In
gold or skills or raiment's gay
In
goods that perish and decay
But
his high wisdom knows a way
And
this is sure let come what may
Who
does God's work will get God's pay
This
poem echoes what the Psalmist said, “God
will repay according to his works” (v12).
Indeed, the idea of obedience leading to blessing is a theme
that weaves in and out of the fabric of God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation.
Ex.
23:25 Worship
the Lord your God, and He will bless
your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you.
Malachi
3:10 Bring
the full tenth into the storehouse so
that there may be food in My house. Test
Me in this way,” says the Lord of Hosts.
“See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without
measure.
Mt.
6:33 But
seek first the kingdom of God w
and His righteousness, and all these
things will be provided for you.
All throughout the
Scriptures God promises to “repay man for righteous actions.” This is why it is absolutely essential that
each of us develop a good, godly, effective strategy for decision making. This strategy will have three distinct
characteristics: Proper Priorities;
Patient Trust; and Promising Prospects.
I do so much hope and pray
that each one of us will begin today making better decisions and seeing more
spectacular results in our lives, and in the lives of our family, and even in
our world.
As I mentioned when we
began this Scriptural journey this morning, we are overwhelmed by the number of
decisions, or choices, we have to make each and every day. There are 1,161 choices for toilet brushes on
Amazon.com. There are at least 2,100
different occupations to choose from (and I think that number is low). It has created what psychologist call,
“information fatique.”
I few centuries ago, life
was as easy as your last name. If you
were called, “Baker,” then a baker was your father and a baker you would
be. If you were called, “Carpenter,”
then a carpenter was your father and a carpenter you would be. The same was true for the Smiths, the
Tanners, and the Potters. Decision
making was much simpler a few hundred years ago. We as Americans, especially, have so many
options, choices, or decisions to make.
Years ago, a Russian family
fled the economic stagnation and social oppression of Russia to search for the
American dream. They had a young son,
who landed here not knowing a word of English.
He now makes a living speaking (in a manner of speaking) to large
audiences. You may have heard of
him. His name is Yakov Smirnoff. He’s a comedian. He loves America. All through his act he declares, “What a
country?” He tells the story of going to
the grocery store for the first time.
Remember, the cost of socialism meant that most Russian grocery stores
were sparsely stocked with shelves mostly empty. Not in America. Yakov says he went down one aisle and saw a
shelf with boxes of powdered milk—you just add water and you get milk! Then, on another aisle there were boxes of
powdered orange juice—you just add water and you have orange juice! He says that in the next aisle he saw boxes
labeled, “baby powder.” He could not
contain himself, and yelled out loud, “What a country!”
We do have a lot of options
in America of which the rest of the world can only dream. But, with so much opportunity comes a lot of
responsibility. We must make godly
decisions. Learning to make Godly decisions is a key element in living an
effective and satisfying life.
With a Bible in your hand
and the Holy Spirit in your heart, you can make godly decisions no matter what
situation you may be facing.
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