This morning, I was reading about Jacob and Esau. It is a great story on the perils of making rash decisions. Esau was a guy who sold his birthright because he was hungry. He then married two women who were conveniently nearby. Then when Jacob deceives him a second time, Esau is ready for murder. It’s a lot of rash decisions in three chapters of Genesis.
There are two types of decision makers. Some of us take the time to review all the facts, perspectives and and possibilities. Then there are those of us who go with the gut and what we feel in the moment. Neither approach is always the best way.
Information Overload!
If we tend to gather as much information as possible, we can be in trouble in a world of too much information. Thanks to the Internet, we can find far more stats, figures and opinions than ever before.
It can be equally challenging when some information contradicts another set of facts and figures. One problem of the Internet is that anyone can spew facts and figures without accountability. Is that little fact really correct? Where did it come from? How can we know it’s accurate or even true?
Heaven help us! It can paralyze us from making any decision.
Go With the Gut?
If we’re stuck with too much information, is making a rash decision the way to go? Our emotions are not always right. Esau gave away his future because he was hungry. Emotional decisions we make today may look like foolishness. Temptation is a lousy decision maker. Should we really eat that whole bag of chips right before bed? And why not stay up to watch that show we’ve been meaning to catch up on? We don’t really feel tired anyway.
The next thing we know, it’s five in the morning, we feel bloated and discouraged. That didn’t go the way we would have liked! But our gut said go for it, right?
Discernment
It can be tough to have discernment. I’ve been thinking about discernment for some time. After all, my stomach has made too many decisions for my brain!
Discernment can be hard. Who should we believe and who should be be skeptical about? Is this a great business decision, but it goes against our values? Should we wait until we get a little light on the situation?
We need a little healthy skepticism, even when our source of information confirms what we want to hear. There is a time to go with our guts, and a time to wait and see. The important decisions need to take time and fact-gathering. While the short-term decisions can have a little spontaneity. I think I’ll go get some breakfast. But I’ll do so in a way that won’t sell off my birthright!
