Decision making
MEMORISE: Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Hebrews 12:16
READ: Genesis 25:29-34
GENESIS 25:29 And Jacob boiled pottage: and Esau came in from the field, and he was faint:
GENESIS 25:30 and Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage ; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
GENESIS 25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me first thy birthright.
GENESIS 25:32 And Esau said, Behold, I am about to die: and what profit shall the birthright do to me?
GENESIS 25:33 And Jacob said, Swear to me first; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
GENESIS 25:34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: so Esau despised his birthright.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Samuel 1-2, & 1 Peter 1:1-12.
MESSAGE:
The original intention and will of God for mankind is that we would maintain our innocence while still exercising our free will to make decisions in total obedience to His word. His desire is for us to make decisions in conscious and deliberate submission to His authority, not out of ignorance but in innocence.
Life involves making decisions at different levels and under various circumstances. To help us navigate our way through life successfully, the Scripture offers us guidance on how we should make decisions, while providing examples of good and bad decisions and their consequences.
Relying on the human knowledge of good and evil motivates people to reason things out and arrive at seemingly good decisions that are based on prevailing culture, level of intelligence and personal preferences, without any serious consideration for obedience to the will of God. The truth is, decision-making is the most vital aspect of life because the quality of a person's decision determines the level of success or failure he or she attains.
The Bible narrates some classic examples of bad decisions made over the ages and their consequences. The most harmful of this is found in Genesis 3:6:
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof…”
This was the decision that got the whole of humanity into trouble, but thank God for Jesus who redeemed us by His Blood. Another example is Esau who chose to sell his birthright for bread and pottage, and he lost it forever. Samson also made bad choices, including his decision to mingle with strange women, which destroyed his life, made him lose his power and caused him to die in the camp of his enemies (Judges 16:1).
Furthermore, in 1 Samuel 13:8-9, King Saul's decision to offer the required burnt offering in the absence of Prophet Samuel made him lose everything. The Lord will restore everything you have lost today in Jesus' Name.
The Bible also contains examples of those who made good decisions... E. G joseph