The Responsibility of Choice

Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.”

Ezra 10:4 NASB Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Responsibility

This is a busy season! Usually, the holidays are a bustling time for most people. Filled with shopping, working overtime to afford gifts that’ll be eventually forgotten, and fastening traveling plans to visit with family we haven’t seen in person for 2 years. As I neglect my Thanksgiving recovery plans filled with green smoothies and YouTube workout videos, I am distracted by choices. The power, damage, and opportunity a choice can make is life-changing and while I knew this already, within the last few weeks, decisions and choices have become a focus of my daily life. I’ve been waking up with so much energy lately; The energy that helps me to focus on getting things done. While I’ve been crushing goals as the fuel of productivity pushes me in a different direction. Right now, I’m wrapping up my first semester of grad school, practicing for 3 dances, sending ideas out to potential partnerships, meeting strangers God is introducing me to, joining other organizations, writing books, and editing others, working at night, and considering picking up a second job. *Whew* That’s a lot and it just seemed to pick up as the weeks continue. As I run around meeting commitments from deciding to do so, I’m reminded of the responsibility they hold.

Understanding your YES & NO

God introduced me to the weight of “yes” some time ago and it sobered up my imagination like a wet phone submerged in rice. Understanding what you’re agreeing to handle, participate in, comply with and submit to is bigger than what most consider in the immediacy of giving consent. It’s the reality of having an “agree to the terms and conditions” box pop up in every decision we face throughout the day. Most of us, if not all, usually are quick with the trigger finger, clicking the “yes” box to gain access to the site, content, or software we want at the time. Your “Yes” is as valuable as your “NO” and whatever answer you give means the same answer is applied to any outcome associated with whatever premise you responded to.

For the sake of example, let’s say you don’t have children but you decide you’d like to have at least one. Deciding that you want a child means that you agree to every term and condition that comes along with that responsibility despite the aspects of parenting you may not immediately consider. Under any and all circumstances even if they’re unpreferred whether physical, mental disability, behavioral issues, financial responsibilities even if it’s in paying for something your child breaks…everything concerning that child is now your responsibility until they become of age, you relinquish your parental rights or until the death or either one fo you. If you child grows up to become someone you hoped they wouldn’t be, or do things you wish they wouldn’t, while you may not be legally responsible for them anymore, the emotional costs of concern and worry still remain, especially compared to a childless person.

While no one particularly likes that example, it gets the point across. It digs deeper into the meaning of making a decision. All parents desired children who are healthy, strong and successful in their adult years, but that’s not the case for every child. Taking into account the possibilities, the wins and loses, the laughs and tears to come to destroy the ever-content imagniations we hold as templates in our minds. The same exact things go for our “No”. We refuse all possibilities whether blessing or curse, assets or liability. Our “No’s” are typically given when we’re offered things we don’t want for whatever reason. The assumption here is that what’s offered has a negative either now or later, yet, there are plenty of great opportunities we’ve turned down believing they’d fail.

The point of this is…

Make good decisions because they’re your responsibility. That’s a loaded statement to make; it’s not always simple to make good decisions. We don’t even know if some of those choices we’ve made paid off until they’ve happened, but that’s life. Making god decisions starts with prayer:  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

” ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204:6-7&version=NIV

Pray when you’re thinking about making it an option, pray when you’re researching, say a prayer when you don’t feel you have enough time to make a good decision and pray after you’ve made it and you’re doubtful of making the right choice. Every moment for choice won’t be ideal, but it’s never out of the hands of an ideal God who, like His Word says:  

 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 8:28 NIV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208:28&version=NIV

Questions to consider when making a decision:

What are the possibilities (pros & cons) that could result from this decision?

Are there any other alternatives and how do they compare?

Where can I find God in these options?

What are my motives?

Leave the rest to Him and you’ll be fine. Remember, not making a decision, is making a decision. Stay blessed Love!