Decisions, Decisions

Whether we are aware of it or not, every single thing we do is determined by our beliefs. Our worldview, if you will. I think often times, we have this knowledge in our heads of what we believe. We would stand up for it, fight against ideas which oppose it, and claim that we live by it. But is that how we are actually living? Are we blinded by lies festering in our minds that have come from the media, music, books, even our friends? Do our decisions come from what we claim to believe, or are they based on faulty thinking that we aren't even aware of?

Norman Geisler's book, Chosen But Free deals with the issue of God's sovereignty vs. free will. An age old debate which has not, and i believe will not be resolved until our life on earth is over. How much influence do I have over my decisions? Has God "pre-programmed" everything I'll ever do? Did I chose to believe in Jesus Christ and accept salvation? Or did God choose me? These are questions that are well worth researching and deciding what you believe. Because, as I mentioned, your beliefs will determine your actions.

In the first chapter of his book, Geisler discusses this concept. It’s the thought that all our ideas have consequences—both good consequences and bad consequences. He gives a few different examples of this, both generally and in history. He says “The Red Cross, hospitals, schools, representative government, and aid for the poor and oppressed are all examples of good ideas that led to good actions” (p. 12). However, Geisler also gives an example of how faulty ideas can have extremely horrific consequences. Adolf Hitler believed in the Darwinian theory of “survival of the fittest” or social evolution. He said in his book, Mein Kampf that nature clearly does not one weaker individuals to mate with stronger ones, or superior races to mate with inferior ones, because all the evolutionary progress of the past x number of years would be undone. (Paraphrase mine, p. 239-40). Because of his train of thought, millions of people were murdered.

I think everyone will agree that our decisions begin with a thought. A single thought turns into a trail of thoughts leading you straight to a decision to act. I then must ask the question: Where do our thoughts come from? What are we feeding our minds? It has long been said that negative behavior is easier to imitate than positive behavior. Are you surrounded by negativity? Are you quick to criticize and critique? Do you focus on the bad? Do you put people down?

Our minds can be very scary places. I had a professor who used to say “The smallest decision can change the trajectory of your life.” If this is true, and I do believe it is, I think it is vitally important that we evaluate the sources that we allow to influence our minds. There is only one source which to me is the highest standard to base my decisions on and that is the Bible; the very Word of God.

Philippians 4:8 says “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” If we do this, we can trust that our thoughts will be what they should be in order to make the right decisions.

Richer than a Win

Worship through song in the church today is a very controversial issue. Each individual church conducts worship through song in a unique way. Whether it is with the traditional hymns accompanied by only an organ, or with a huge choir accompanied by a full orchestra, the styles are innumerable. But, that is what they are – styles. The heart of worship is so much deeper and greater than they type of song song, the instruments used, or the person (or people) leading.

                God calls us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). He doesn’t just want us to sing to Him. The song is the means by which we let our guard down and come face to face with the reality that God is God, and I am not, and praise Him for it. It is the means by which we tell Him how grateful we are that He is so much greater than we will ever understand and the eternal results of our lives do not ultimately depend on us. The song is the means by which I draw nearer to my Savior, the creator and lover of my soul.

The way a person prefers to do that is unbelievably diverse. A person’s church should be the place where they come to celebrate, with other believers, who God is. His attributes, His character, His immense love for us. Yet the fight among us is alive and well—HOW do we do this? WHAT type of instruments, songs and leading will allow the congregation to draw near to the Lord and offer Him our praise and thanks? The answers to these questions are undoubtedly not going to satisfy everyone within any given church. There will be those who wish things were more traditional. There will be who think the traditional worship style is boring and stuffy. There will be those who don’t like either, but can’t figure out what it is they do like.

This fight is exhausting. It is tricky, it is never ending, and it is ultimately over secondary things. C.S. Lewis said “You can’t get second things by putting them first. You get second things only by putting first things first.” I believe this is such an important truth. The “first thing” in the fight over worship is the condition of your heart. What is your motive in fighting for your preference? Are you incapable of drawing near to God through a style of worship different than your own? If you do get your way, what was the cost? You can “worship” in your preferred style, but is your heart still right with the Lord? That kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

I would say, check your heart. Ask the Lord “search [your] heart…see if there is any offensive way in [you]” (Psalm 139:23-24). If you can ask the Lord to help you set aside your preference and draw near to Him in worship through song in a style different than your own, I think you have gained something richer than winning your battle.

What else do I need?

I was born into a family that believes in God, and I grew up going to church with my family. When I was three years old, my sister told me that I had to believe that Jesus was God’s son and choose to live like he wanted me to or after I died I would go to “a really bad place.” I told her I believed it, and I prayed and told God. I continued going to church and learning about all of the stories in the Bible. When I was about nine or ten, I decided I wanted to tell the world that I had become a Christian. 

As I grew older I learned that it wasn’t up to me to be perfect. God knew I couldn’t live perfectly, so he sent Jesus on my behalf. Jesus lived a perfect life, and then he sacrificed himself—to pay the price for my imperfection. But because he’s God’s son and has power, he overcame death and rose back to life. All I had to do was believe that was true, and God would forgive my imperfection, and allow me to have a relationship with him. 

My relationship with Him makes life worth living. When my world fell apart, God held me in one piece. He is everything I need to stay in one piece. Life is often incredibly painful and disappointing; my relationship with God brings ultimate healing and fulfillment that last forever. What else do I need?