"The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in
the LORD shall be safe." - Proverbs 29:25
As we looked at John 12:20-50 this last week, one thing we
saw the sad verse of Pharisees who believed in Jesus but did not confess Him
for they feared the Pharisees and "they loved the praises of men more than
the praises of God." We spent time
showing that making decisions based on the fear of man will never allow you to
be a good decision maker or a good leader in your home, work, school or life in
general. Decisions are always going to
be questioned by someone but you can stand firm if you've made your decision
based on the Lord's leading.
I found it interesting then, that hours later, during Super
Bowl XLIX, a decision that was made by the offensive coordinator (OC) to pass
led to an interception that allowed the Patriots to win the game. That decision was dubbed by many "the
worst call in Super Bowl history!"
People were quick to react and post all sorts of funny memes and not so
funny rants on why the OC did not just give Marshawn Lynch the football and
have him run it into the end zone from the 2 yard line. And so in our Growth Group Home Fellowships,
we discussed how we would handle being that OC and what we would say about our
decision.
But that also got me thinking and I brought up this question
in the GGHF I attended: what makes something a bad decision or good
decision? Should the result always be
the determining factor in a good vs bad decision? Had it worked, would we have still said
"worst call ever"?
As I read more about what went into the decision, I realized
there was a reason why the OC made the decision he made and it made sense -
even if I don't agree with the philosophy (I come from an old school run the
football mentality anyways), I can understand the call. It also made me remember something else: I
don't get paid millions of dollars to coach and make decisions like that nor am
I equipped to be a judge and be an armchair coach as if I have a higher
intellect and understanding and my thoughts are better than that OC's.
Yet, so many people want to lead from the sidelines. They want to express their opinions as facts
without seeing the big picture. Whether
it be people questioning the president of the United States, questioning their
boss or teacher or questioning a ministry leader about decisions, the truth is,
it is always easier to "make decisions" from the opposite side of the
desk, when it reality, we don't see the big picture that that person sees. Therefore, we need to be careful of who we
start condemning or calling out. We need
to simply trust that leader if the decisions are not against the Lord's ways.
Now to those making decisions led of the Lord, we also don't
always understand the big picture of the Lord yet we need to trust that the way
He is leading is right. Steps of faith
are often required in making decisions in ministry and we must follow His
leading. And if we are following His
leading, then don't let the fear of man keep you from stepping out and standing
on the decision you've made.
Will it sometimes be questioned? Absolutely!
Could some even be hostile or mocking due to decision that was
made? Certainly. But you answer to the Lord - not to the
people and we must remember that. Others
most of the time don't see the big picture, they just have their tiny view of
what is going on (just as I do when I try and armchair quarterback).
But when it comes to making decisions, follow the Lord and
don't let the fear of man keep you going the road the Lord wants you to take!
This blog post comes from further thoughts of the sermon on
John 12:20-50 titled “Final Words of Jesus to the Crowds” which can be found by
clicking here or simply visiting http://www.refugesanger.com/teachings. It was originally published at refugesanger.wordpress.com
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