One of the most renowned poems in American literature is “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. I remember in high school and college the efforts we students and our teachers made to give deep meaning to the poem regarding choices we have in life. What I have since learned is that Frost never intended for the poem to be seen as a serious discourse on making life choices. Frost admitted in writing that the poem was not intended as serious commentary on decision making, but to poke fun at his poet friend Edward Thomas who had trouble making decisions, and once he finally did, found himself second guessing his choice.
Despite the light hearted nature intended by Frost, it is not hard to glean from the poem life principles about decision making and the impact it has on our lives. The first two lines, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both…,” remind us that our lives are lived moving from choice to choice. Choices are as old as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Choices are inevitable. Even choosing not to choose is to make a choice. Some choices are lightweight and can be made on a whim or based on personal taste with little consequence. Other choices carry the weight of the world, are loaded with serious consequences, and require skilled decision making. As the last line of the poem reminds us, our choices make “all the difference” in the life we get to live as a result of the choices we make.
I don’t know of anyone who intentionally tries to be a bad decision maker. There’s too much self-preservation in each of us to allow for that. Any emotionally and mentally healthy person wants to make good decisions and get good results. That being the case, what are essential elements for making good decisions? Typically when that question is asked, the answers include such things as adequate accumulation of information and data, and assessments of such things as risks, rewards, resources needed, resources available, and the negative consequences that might happen should we choose wrong.
In addition to the elements of decision making mentioned above and others like them, there are other elements we need to be aware of which inform and influence our decision making processes—especially when the decision facing us is a moral one. These elements combine to create a filter through which data and information is processed. Listed below are eight such influencers of which we need to be aware.
- Our worldview – The lens through which we see and interpret life.
- Our source of self-worth – The source of our sense of value as a person, whether it is earned through accomplishments or accumulation, or whether it is granted to us because we have been created in the image of God.
- Our perception of truth – Whether we believe truth is absolute or we believe it is relative and left to the individual to determine for him/herself at any given moment and circumstance.
- Our sense of purpose – What we believe is the reason we are alive; what gives us reason to get up in the morning.
- Our core values – Those non- negotiable beliefs and ethical and moral standards we hold which guide us and give our lives stability.
- Our source of wisdom – Where we obtain good guidance and insight for choosing the best path that will enable us to accomplish the most good in the best possible way.
- Our desires – Those things which we want to have or want to happen, which, if not managed well, can morph into out-of-control lusts.
- Our gatekeepers – Those guardrails we put in position in our lives to keep us from running off the road, such as our conscience and our commitments.
Yes, life moves along from choice to choice, with each choice possessing its own degree of difficulty and importance. Yet, there is one choice that each person must make which is of greatest importance. It is the one choice that influences all the other choices we can ever make. That choice was expressed by Jesus Christ in a conversation with his friend Mary on the occasion of her brother Lazarus’ death, when He said in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” That is the choice for the ages that everyone must make.
As we assess our need to make that most important decision, we need to remember this life principle: We make our choices and then our choices make us.
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