THE MYTH OF ONE DECISION

Last night in our City Jail Bible Study/ GED Class, we were correcting some sentences in a multiple-choice format.  You see, parts of the reading test of the GED requires you to correct a sentence or passage by changing on a designated section of the sentence.  You can’t change anything except what’s underlined or highlighted.  

The brothers kept getting the wrong answer because they would pick the multiple-choice option that looked right compared to the other choices rather than the option that became right when inserted into the sentence. 

For example

1.      What is the best way to rewrite the underlined section in

Proverbs 5: 22 The wicked man’s own iniquities entrap him, but he is caught in the cords of his own sin.

1. NO CHANGE                             c. entrap them, and he
2. entrap him but he                   d. entrap him, and he

They kept choosing A or C.  The correct answer is D.

So, I explained, “What you choose over here has to make the change you want up here.  You’re not just making one decision about your choice.  You’re also making a decision for the entire context of the sentence. Don’t just think about what you’re choosing.  Think about what you’re changing.”

And that’s how it is in life.  In life, it is impossible for a grown man to make just one decision.

Every individual choice we make as adults is made in is actually a series of decisions. 

When I decide to buy something, I place that expenditure in the context of a particular household budget.  If I go over a line item then I have to cut something else which means that someone else in the house can’t buy what they expected to buy, or we can’t save what we intended to save.  My single choice at Best Buy was in context, all of those other decisions rolled together.

Much of the time you can’t change the context.  The only words that can be changed are the words marked for revision.  The money for the month is what the money for the month is.  Period.  Traffic on the route you chose is whatever the traffic is on that route.  You pick the road, but you can’t dictate when construction happens.   

So, you have to think about more than what you’re choosing.  You need think about what you’re changing.

When you tell that lie, inhale that chemical, share that gossip, or spend that night it’s your choice; but it’s not just one choice.  Choosing to make that sacrifice, give that extra effort, forgive that wrong, commit to that service, or submit to that correction is your decision; but it’s not just one decision.

Each decision, in the context of your life on this earth, changes something about you.  Each decision gradually make you a better or a worse person. Each choice cause your entire life to be a little better or a little worse.  Every decision moves you forward, keeps you stuck, or drags you back. 

For Achan is was just a few trinkets but it cost the lives of 36 soldiers and his entire family. (Joshua7)

For David and Bathsheba is was just one night but it cost the life of a good man, an innocent baby, and generations of conflict, rebellion, and suffering in the family and the nation (2 Samuel 11, 12).

For Adam and Eve, it was just a little fruit, but it cost everything (Genesis 3).

You never just make one decision.  Consider what you’re changing not just wha you’re choosing.

---Anderson T. Graves II

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is the pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church

Call/ fax: 334-288-0577
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