“Bad Decisions” Part 1
Proverbs 14:12
12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of
death.
In many instances, people
in the body of Christ do not set out to make poor choices. But some of the bad decisions that God’s
people make are the result of them failing to seek godly counsel prior to
making the choice. God will provide us
with wise counsel when we seek it. Sometimes
He will speak to us through His Word.
Other times, He will supply others with the advice that we need.
We also tend to make
poor decisions when we believe that we have a better way than God’s prescribed
way, and it causes us to disobey what God has already established.
Sometimes when we weigh God’s way against our logic, our logic just seems to be a better
option. While some decisions that we make may appear to be harmless or
intelligent choices on the surface, our inability to see what lies beneath the
surface is normally what causes us to pay the price in the end. Proverbs
14:12 has already warned us that although our way may appear to be right, it
may ultimately lead us into destruction. Over the next few weeks, we'll
take a look at some biblical and present day examples of decisions that has
caused people to pay hefty prices.
Abraham
Genesis 16:1-4
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was
Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has
restrained me from bearing children.
Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram
heeded the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took
Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife,
after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he
went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived,
her mistress became despised in her eyes.
Abraham and Sarah
decided that since Sarah could not have children, Hagar would be a stand in for
Sarah by being impregnated by Abraham and producing the child that would carry
on the family’s bloodline. Since this
was a culturally accepted practice, it appeared to be a good idea but Abraham
failed to consult God for His guidance before moving forward with this decision. As a result, it caused Sarah to be viewed as
insignificant by her own servant. In the end, Abraham became estranged from his son after Sarah had him to
evict Hagar and Ishmael.
While Abraham and
Sarah’s decision to produce a child through the use of a surrogate was culturally acceptable,
God does not look to societal norms to determine how He should resolve an
issue or accomplish what He desires to do.
Sometimes, the consequences of using our own judgment instead of God’s
judgment cannot be immediately realized.
During his time, Abraham witnessed contention between his first born son
and his son of promise, but we recognize throughout history, that much of the Israeli and
Arab conflict is a result of fighting between the descendants of Isaac and the
descendants of Ishmael.
