Letting go of the good for the better

For people who have a deep and abiding relationship with Christ, the decisions between right and wrong are usually pretty easy. Its the decisions between what is good and better that are often difficult. For example, lets say my wife and I both had a long week and have been unable to spend quality time together. That same week my friends are having a get together on Friday night. We know Saturday is family day and Sunday will be busy. I have a decision, I can hang out with my friends on Friday night (which is a good thing) or I can hang out with my wife on Friday night (which is a better thing).

Or how about the decision between reading a magazine like Sports Illustrated (for men) or Better Homes and Garden (for women) instead of picking up the Bible. Reading SI or BHG is good, but reading the Bible is better.

I have a daughter starting school this year. As my wife and were weighing our options, we came up with three: 1. private school, 2. public school, 3. home school. We had to make a decision not between right and wrong, but between what we felt was best for our daughter.

There's a lot more examples I could give, but you get the point. Its often the decisions between something good and something better that are often far more difficult than the decisions between what is right and what is wrong. The reason these decisions can be hard is because we have to give up something that is good. Hopefully, the payoff is something better. Hopefully the results of spending time with my wife instead of my friends has a high payoff. Hopefully by reading the Bible we learn something new about God and our relationship with him even if it means missing out on an interview with Lebron James or skipping the latest home fashions.

I think the key ingredient to making the decision that God wants us to make is wisdom. That's why Proverbs 3:13 says "Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold." And Proverbs 4:7 says "Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."

May we seek Godly wisdom and may God honor our seeking by granting it to us.