Making wise choices will always start with our thoughts. Choosing life, Nicky Gumbel says, ‘starts with your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Each day, choose life-giving thoughts.’ (BIOY, 19th April 2017) Jesus said, ‘out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.’ (Matt 15:19) Our thoughts determine our words and our actions, so wise choices are formed when we focus on good thoughts.
If we are not to conform to the pattern of the world, then our minds have to be renewed and transformed. (Rom 12:2) This happens as we think God’s thoughts, as we deliberately and consciously fix our thoughts on ‘whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy.’ (Phil 4:8) The acid test in making wise choices is what you allow your thoughts to dwell on.
If we focus on negative, destructive thoughts, allowing helplessness and defeatism to dominate our thoughts, we will give in to temptation and end up doing the things we despise. If we focus on God’s Word, we find resources to guide our thinking and actions and have the ability, through the power of God’s Spirit living within us, to choose God’s ways. Joshua 1:7 reminds us ‘be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.’ We have to keep to this script (no room for improvisation, picking and choosing what we will obey) in order to receive the material and spiritual blessings God promises for the obedient (see Deut 30:5, Deut 3:9-10, Josh 23:10, Eph 1:3).
Making wise choices involves 4 steps:
- Dwelling on God’s character and nature so that we realise His commands are not burdensome but for our own good. (1 Jn 5:3)
- Leaning on God in daily dependence, for it is God who is at work in us by His power (Phil 2:13)
- Fixing our thoughts on good things and guarding our hearts (see Prov 4:23)
- Doing whatever God tells us to do! (Jn 2:5, James 1:22)