Choosing Between What You Want To Do
and What You Ought To Do

by Olga Hermans

You are very special to God and He gave you the freedom of choice. So, since God created you and me to make decisions, then we can be sure that He has also given us the proper way to make those decisions.

The gift of free will is one thing that characterizes God as a Father. He gives us His guidelines for life in His Word and then allows us to make our own choices. We have the power to choose a life of blessings or curses. Our future is are completely in our hands.

God can’t and won’t make us do anything, and the devil certainly can’t force us into anything we don’t willingly agree to. For this reason, the responsibility for the direction of our lives is in our hands.

Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to make a choice to do something, but knew deep down in your heart you should be doing the other thing. What do you do in a situation like that? How do you know which choice to make and know that, that is the best choice?

Let’s picture the scales in an old grocery store that were used to weigh out how many ounces of candy were in a bag or something. Both of the scales have a balance point in the center. If the objects on both sides are the same weight, then the sides will balance. If one side is heavier, then that side will go down and the other side will go up. A seesaw on a playground would give the same picture.

If you want to make a quality decision, you must determine the weight or value you will give to those objects you are choosing. Only after doing that,  can you  decide between the choices. Only then, can you say no and choose between the different options that you have, right? You are giving weight or value to the things on the scale. This is a very important step to making a quality decision.

Many times people make important decisions without judging the options, without weighing the positives and negatives, without determining what that decision will mean to them in the long run.

This is process that goes on all the time even when we might not be aware of it. Let’s have a look at this example of a woman buying a pair of shoes. Her decision to purchase a particular pair of shoes will be determined by what is important to her. It depends on the situation; some determining factors might be color, comfort and style. She might be looking for a color to wear with a particular outfit that she already has.

If she finds shoes in the correct color, she may buy them even if the fit bothers her a little. On the other hand, she may be looking for high heels for a formal occasion. She might try on a pair of shoes that are very comfortable but have low heels.

No matter how comfortable they may be, she will tell the clerk, “No, that’s not what I want.” Even in this ordinary, routine action, she will think the situation through and outweigh one or the other.

It is not difficult to make a decision if one choice greatly outweighs the other. Sometimes though, each of the choices has great value and you have to choose between them.

God told Moses in Ex.3:10 to go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt. Moses valued the situation which meant that he honored the situation. He put the choices that he had to make in the balance. His desire to obey God was much greater than the treasure he had in Egypt.

Just because you know what you should do, does not make it easy. And certainly this was not a simple decision for Moses to make. As “The Son of Pharao’s Daughter,” Moses held a position of great wealth. He was in the royal line and entitled to an inheritance. Probably he would become king himself some day.

Have you ever had to consider giving something up – something you knew you should give up – then you began to think about how much you liked that thing, or how hard you had worked for it or how long it had taken you to get in that position?

Has God ever given you a dream that has caused you to be so excited that you were not able to sleep at night? Then, as time passed without the dream becoming a reality, you may have lost your enthusiasm in pursuing that dream. Perhaps you even questioned whether it was from God in the first place.

Many times our dreams do not become reality because of the decisions we make in our lives. Your course in life depends on the decisions you make. Don’t let your God-given dreams fade away. It is time to dust off your unfilled dreams and go for it!!

Today is a great day to start to weigh your choices and to determine to make quality decisions.

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