Life is full of choices.  The choices we make shape our future, and in turn affect those who come in contact with us.  As Christians, our decisions must be based on God-given direction through the Word of God and by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I am sure we all have been through situations that call for important decisions to be made.  We do not set out to make bad decisions.   At times, it is difficult to make the right decision.  Making hard decisions easy requires determination, perseverance and self-discipline.

In the twenty-six years of being a minister’s wife and a mother, I can remember having to make many decisions, which were not always easy.  Through my experiences, and reading good Christian literature, I have found that we can make hard decisions easy.

As Christians, through the revealed will of God, we know what is right and what is not, so it is easy to make a decision in those areas.  But when I am faced with making a decision that isn’t put down in black or white in the Scriptures, what we term as “the gray areas,” there are certain questions that I ask myself which help me make the right decision.

1. Will it profit me?

The day begins with “decision making” – the time when you hear the alarm clock ringing.  You have the choice to “snooze and lose” or “rise and shine.”   Will the few minutes of extra sleep profit me, or will it set me back and get me in a rush?  The decision I make this time of the morning will have major ef-fects on the rest of the day.  So, let us choose wisely.

2. Will it cultivate godliness and help improve my spiritual life?

Once I am up, another decision I, as a Christian woman, am faced with is, what do I wear today?  The answer and the decision I make determine if my spiritual life is being enhanced and if godliness is being cultivated.

Look quality, think quality, and talk quality.  I would rather dare to be different than blend in with the rest of the world with their tattoos, piercing and indecent apparel.  If I dress as the world, I become part of the world and it will hurt me spiritually.  My “chaste” attire will open doors of opportunity to witness to those who can see something different in me.

3. Will it add to my life things that will increase my physical and spiritual stability, strength and maturity?  Will it build me up?

Once I have decided what to wear, the next important decision is, what do I eat?  What I decide to eat should build me up physically and spiritually.   Quality decisions must be made if I am to take charge of my body, which is the temple of the Living God.  If I decide to eat right, I will have better health to carry out the different activities during the day.  Self-discipline and determination will help me make the right decision.

4. Will the decision I make slow me down in the race?

As soon as I leave the house in the morning, I am in a race.  There are times when I have the hard decision to make – to say the things that come to mind, or to be silent.  Thinking before speaking is a decision I have to make myself.  I have learned to value my words.  Talk quality.  There are some things in life that I do need to restrict for no other reason but that they slow me down in the race.  The decision to speak words that will encourage will help make this race easier for me to run. I do represent Christ through my “good conversation.”

5. Will I help others by my example and will what I do lead others to Christ?

As the day goes on, I am faced with circumstances that I have not planned and determined.  They just happen.  God chooses what I will go through; I choose how I will go through it.  The right attitude will help me rise above the situation.  We are always being watched – at home, in school, at work.  I can be a good example by deciding to have the right attitude in difficult times. God gives grace to overcome every situation.

We come in contact with many people during the day; the grocer, the bank teller, the postman, and a neighbor – touching their lives, influencing them for Jesus.   It pays to have the right attitude; therefore I choose to have the right attitude, because the only Bible some may ever read is what they will read in me.

Choose to be happy and grateful.  I can be happy because happiness is a product of gratefulness.  A grateful heart is what will keep me out of depression.  (A merry heart doeth good like a medicine  – Proverbs 17:22)

One smile will make a big difference.  A smile is a crooked line that makes everything straight – smile more often!

6. Will it glorify God?

I must never forget the fact that I must bring glory to God in every action.  There will be times when people will hurt me.  I can drag that hurt around with me all day long and maybe the next day, too.  Or, I can choose to have a forgiving spirit, which will glorify God.  Forgiveness is a gift, which means more to the giver than the one who is being forgiven.  Forgiveness is about us.  It is a decision, not an emotion.  Abraham Lincoln said, “Forgiveness has value only when it is given away.”

In closing, I would like to encourage you to lean heavily on the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Pray your way through.  God bless you.