Tonight, a hypothetical (but true!) story, and then the moral of the story.

Once upon a time, there was a person.  The person was in the midst of trying to make a difficult decision, and there were several options.  Option (1) requires next to nothing, and it promises relatively little.   Option (2) promises good results, but it requires the person to do something he or she is not 100% comfortable with, because it violates their beliefs.  Option (3) promises good results in the long-term, but will require lots of sacrifice.  It is consistent with the person’s beliefs and worldview.   The person looks at these options, and in the quiet of their hearts, they choose one of the three options, and go about their life.

In my opinion, there are three kinds of people, and they correspond to how they respond in this hypothetical exercise.

People who choose type (1) are do-nothings.  They fear risk and investment.  In the Christian life, they are the folks who take Jesus like fire-insurance with a high deductible:  in case of a catastrophe, they’re covered, but they’re not going to pay any kind of regular price for following Him.  In most cases, you’ll find them doing nothing just about everywhere, and complaining because there is nothing extraordinary about their lives.  Greatness requires some kind of risk or investment, and the do-nothings don’t have the courage for that.

Choice (2) people call themselves pragmatists, but really, that’s just a fancy word for selfish hedonism.  When in doubt, they will make the choice that provides the greatest short-term benefit and offers the least resistance.  In the Christian life, they are the people who church-hop from place to place because it’s where the cool people are, or the famous preacher, or the coolest worship band.  They routinely make a show of their faith in public, but in private, when it comes down to it, they don’t care much about following Jesus.  When given the choice between the right thing, even when it is difficult, and the easy thing, they will choose the easy thing every time if they can get away with it.

Choice (3) people are disciples.  They bury themselves in Jesus’ teachings to know what He says, and when the opportunity comes, they do things God’s way, even if there aren’t any earthly incentives for doing so.  They have a long view of the future and a growing faith in God.  They probably share their faith with other people, because somehow, they are happy despite not always seeking their own happiness out.  They are contagious Christians, and are so without really putting in any effort beyond just following after Jesus all the time–especially when no one is looking.

You can probably tell by the way I typed that which way I think is the best, and I’m not alone.  God himself seems to favor one of the paths as opposed to the others.  God calls the first group (in the book of Proverbs) the lazy.  That seems pretty self-explanatory.   The second group, he calls fools.  They use God like a punchline, only it’s them who end up on the mat over and over, and they never seem to learn.  The last group God calls wise.

Here’s the key to the entire puzzle though.  In my limited experience, all three groups have something in common:  they all know what they SHOULD do.   You see, what makes the difference between the lazy, the foolish and the wise has nothing to do with what they know.  In my hypothetical situation, all three groups know something has to be done.  The first group fears and tries to escape the choice, though they know the right thing.  The second group knows what has to be done but tries to get by and get something out of it for themselves in the process.  Only the final group knows the right thing and does it.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve watched someone who knows the right thing to do, and for some reason refuses to do it.  Maybe it requires something the person doesn’t want to give.  Maybe it doesn’t promise immediate satisfaction.  Maybe it just promises to be too hard for comfort.

Let me skip the wordgames:  if you REALLY don’t know the right thing to do in a given situation, work it out.  Go to your Bible and see what the Bible might say about it.  Pray for wisdom.  Seek godly counsel.  Then do it.  If you do know the right thing (and you’re playing a game with yourself to try avoid having to do it the right way), get off the merry-go-round and do what your conscience is telling you to do.  If you think something is wrong, there is an excellent chance that it IS wrong.  You may not know what the right thing is, but you probably know the wrong thing.  If all else fails, just make sure to avoid doing wrong things, and that should get you started.

So much of the Christian faith boils down to obedience–not to a list of rules, but to a God who is knowable.  If you are in Christ, you have the Holy Spirit guiding you and the image of God being restored in you–you’ve got all the resources you need to make the right decision and avoid the wrong decision.  You just have to listen.  In case of life, avoid the things you know are wrong, and choose the things you know are right.