Deciding in This Season of Indecision
If you’re a regular reader of this blog (thank you), you read my recent post about trust. I noted that we live in a culture of mistrust, which is very evident in American’s mistrust of both presidential candidates.
The mistrust in the upcoming election fuels our indecision as election day approaches. We can group people in three camps:
- Those who ardently support Clinton or Trump. He/She is Absolutely The Right Candidate.
- Those who ardently denounce Clinton or Trump, so they are voting for the other candidate as the lesser of two evils.
- Those sitting on the fence, not really enthused about either candidate. I’m not sure which candidate will do the less damage to our country.
By one survey earlier this summer, this third group accounts for 25 percent of voters. One in four voters—and over half of those want neither candidate!
I have made my decision, but I get the indecisiveness of one-fourth of us. What if I make the wrong decision?
Indecision comes at me in other ways.
- If my wife walks out of Baskin-Robbins with ice cream for me (one scoop in a cup, thank you), I will quickly consume it. But when I go in myself, I stare at all the choices and can’t decide.
- Buy me a book for Christmas and I’m happily off in the corner reading. Give me an Amazon gift card, and I may not use it for weeks because I can’t decide which book to buy.
I’m guessing you’ve faced similar indecision. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz says we think we like having options, but in reality, “choice no longer liberates, but debilitates.” In other words, we do better with 1-2 choices of potato chips. And the chip company will actually sell more chips if they give us less choices.
OK, what flavor of chips you get to go with that convenience store burrito is not significant. Choose, and move on. But other decisions should take more deliberation.
Like eternity. Your relationship with God. Your life.
The world offers a lot of choices when it comes to how to have a relationship with God. Many people look at the choices and throw them in the same category as potato chips. Sure, they all taste different, but in the end, you’re getting a potato chip.
That’s true for potato chips, but do we really want to quickly write off life in the same way? It does matter what you choose.
More specifically, it matters who you choose.
I am a Christian. I have chosen Jesus Christ. Years ago, I began to study what other religions and philosophies teach. I became more convinced than ever that choosing to follow Jesus Christ is the right choice.
Jesus is the only choice.
The message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:8-9).
Go ahead and be indecisive about which shampoo and conditioner to buy. But your life—now and forever—hinges on one decision: what you do with Jesus.
This 
post is based on the study “Unstoppable Message” in Bible Studies for Life.
A printable version is available to share with others: Deciding in a Season of Indecision
