Taking choices (seriously)
Think about our daily
choices. Even before leaving home for the day we have decided when to get up,
what sequence to follow for our morning, what outfit to wear, what to have for
breakfast, what words to say … and on it goes. Many of these early morning
choices are matters of habit, but even habit is a choice and it builds on
earlier choices.
Some choices are always
inconsequential. Nothing much will change if I wear the blue work shirt
or the pink. Other choices are inconsequential at the time but their cumulative
effect may matter. Today’s choice for a muesli breakfast instead of toast with
jam matters not, but a thousand such choices may affect my health in later
years. Other choices may appear inconsequential but turn out to be life
changing. What if I have equally convenient bus and train options for getting
to work but the day I choose the bus leads to an apparently random meeting of
the love of my life?
How do we take such choices?
A recent opinion piece draws attention to the power of randomness, even in
major choices. Freakonomics author Steven Levitt says it's best to toss a coin (Peter Martin, Canberra Times 14th
August 2016): http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/freakonomics-author-steven-levitt-says-its-best-to-toss-a-coin-20160812-gqr5se.html.
We’ll come back to that later.
Some people seem obsessed
with getting their choices perfect, even if the matter is of small consequence.
This is the person who does endless research to find the best price on a bag of
carrots and then outspends the savings in opportunity and transport costs to
get to the venue where the deal is good. It’s the person who spends 15 minutes
changing from one clothing combination to another until heading out late to
miss that bus that may have changed their life.
Some find it useful to use
the following in their decision-making process:
·
How important is it?
How important is the issue is
on a scale on 1 to 10? (Of course, that ranking will reflect our underlying
values and they are worth thinking
about). If it has very low importance we may as well toss the coin or do the
first thing that occurs to us. Let’s save procrastinating anxiety for things of
high importance!
·
Use your head
What are the available
options and what are the dimensions and implications of each? What’s the case
for and against each option? Which case is the most persuasive for you? Note
again that that our underlying values will be on view here. For example, you
may be buying a household appliance. One option has all the extras that you
want and comes in at a competitive price. Another is more expensive, but was
produced in a factory that pays fair wages and is more environmentally
friendly. The one you prefer reflects what you value.
- Listen to your heart
Our heart intuitions reflect our deepest us – that’s the real ‘me’. Of
course intuitions need to be examined and tested, but they are worth attention.
This is especially so for the more head-orientated person who may be prone to
the procrastination of perfectionism.
- Listen to others
It’s often wise on important issues (or ones where we are stuck) to
listen to others. Find the friend who knows you and the person who knows
something about that matter being chosen. Ask for the views and probe them. We
wouldn’t normally ask someone else to take a choice for us (that’s an
abrogation of responsibility), but the words of others can be handy as advice.
Its time to go back to the
article cited above. The writer comments on an argument for the randomness of
tossing a coin to take decisions. Many of us would agree with that when it
comes to the choice between the blue and pink work shirt. The article goes
further. It examines tossing a coin for the big decision of life such as
choosing jobs, having a baby, getting married and such like. It reports a
finding that people doing this report great happiness levels in taking choices
that way. The article attributes this happiness to the fact that the coin
tossers tend to make more changes in their lives rather than be stuck in
confining ruts of change resistance. We could also guess that the tossers are
happier because they have spared themselves the agony of procrastinating angst.
This is worth pondering. I
just faced a choice of which shirt to wear for a speaking opportunity today. A
choice between a plain blue and striped pink shirt was available in the
wardrobe. I could have agonised, discussed with my wife, prayed or drawn up a
spreadsheet to decide. Three coin tosses later and the blue it is. (Of course
that could also have been done with one toss, but being a cautious Presbyterian
I wanted to be sure.) Now that that’s done I could give my time to more
important things like finishing this blog piece.
However, its one thing to
toss a coin on a low-consequence choice but another on a high consequence
matter. Coin tossing on matters of importance presupposes one of two opposite
views of life. The first is determinism and the second is random meaninglessness.
Consider determinism. Some
hold to a view that the universe is a machine that runs itself. (That is called determinism and is often
paired with naturalism- the view that the physical is all that there is.) If
so, we may as well toss a coin. On that worldview, the coin toss will make no
difference because the predetermined result will happen anyway (whether through
or against the coin toss). Tossing the coin saves time, because you were always
going to finish up there anyway.
Now the other view. If
nothing really matters, and all is random, then a coin toss is as good a way of
deciding things as considered thoughtfulness. ‘Why not, it makes no difference’
is the mantra here. On this worldview, a toss may seem to validate the tosser
and give significance for just that moment and before returning to the
insignificance of no-choice.
The Christian worldview
points us in another direction and its no toss of the coin.
The Scriptures teach that the
God who made the world remains actively involved in its affairs. This is so
much so that everything is moved according to his big plans (Eph 1:11).
Fortunately for us, his big plan is wondrously good – its nothing less than
uniting everything in the created universe together in Jesus (Eph 1:9-10). In
doing this God gets up close and personal. He works everything for good in the
lives of those who love him (Rom 8:28). It’s a question for another day what
that good is – but suffice to say that it’s a good that is better than our
wildest imaginations.
Doesn’t this sound like
divine determinism? Has God pre-taken all our choices and we are back to the
pointless toss of a coin whose fall makes no difference?
No! We were not made as cogs
in a machine, but as people in God’s image whose choices make a difference. Our
Biblical ancestors had a choice to eat or not to eat the forbidden fruit and
their choice made an earth-shattering difference for them and us (Gen 3; Rom
5:12-21). Joshua set a choice of religious loyalties before his generation
(Josh 23:14-15), as did the prophet Elijah (1 Kngs 18:21). Judas had a choice
(Lke 22:22,48) as did Peter (Lke 22:33-34, 61-62) and Pilate (Lke 23:1-16).
Their choices changed Jesus’ life, their own and that of others.
However, notice something
else. These real choices fell out within the plan decided by God. Jesus’ death was
for salvation was according to a plan that had been there in the Bible all
along for those to see (Lke 22:22; 24:24-26, 44). The Bible calls this
providence. We take real choices that make a difference, but are choices are
already woven into and serve God’s big plans to units all things in Jesus and
to do good to his people.
This is a profoundly
practical and reassuring teaching!
We should care in our choices
because our choices change things for others and ourselves. My shirt colour is
well-decided by a coin toss or the whim of the moment, but that’s not true for
other things. As a husband, father, grandfather and friend, my life choices
affect those whom I love. Will I choose for me or for God and others? Will I
choose wisely (and according to the importance of the matter) or foolishly?
Will in I choose in a way that shows love of God and others or love of self?
How will others be affected by my choices? These are some of the value questions that lie behind the
process above.
Now for the reassurance. Sometimes
we take bad choices whether from ignorance, bad values or base motivations. The
encouraging thing is that this is not the end of the world. Some of our choices
will self-correct as events pass or there will be a later opportunity for us to
chose a different path. But even in our worst choices God is still there,
weaving things into his big plan and working for good. And so Peter could later
take another and different choice and come back into God ‘s plans (Jn 21:15-19.
Even in the case of Judas who carried his bad choice to fruition, God still
worked for good. Judas was eternally stuck with the consequence of his choice
(Matt 27:1-10) but through it God sent his Son on the Cross to save. Those who
chose to embrace him with faith are saved, while those who choose not to
believe are left under a self-made condemnation (Jn 3:16-21). Our choice here
changes our destiny for eternity.
Some choices deserve no more
than the toss of a coin. Others deserve far more attention and none more so than
our choice about Jesus.
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