Part I –
The Bible gives us examples of people who made very wrong decisions. I want to take a look at some of these wrong decisions we see in God’s Word. They’re not there by accident; the Bible relates these stories to us so that we can learn how to deal with wrong decisions, and hopefully how to avoid some of them.
Eve
Let’s start at the beginning and talk about Eve. Her wrong decision is infamous. Eve was ushered into a perfect world. No pain, no relationship problems, no hard work, no stress, no bad hair days—nothing bad, everything good. Eve believes the philosophy that if we give people the right environment, they will do the right thing. In the midst of Eden, she made a very wrong, very bad decision to eat the forbidden fruit.
Why did she do this? Because she wasn’t content with what she had. We might think, well, if I had as easy a life as Eve’s, I’d be content. But it’s so easy for us to become discontented even when we have a lot. I want to tell you this: If you’re not content with where you are now, you’re not likely to be content even if your circumstances improve.
If you’re not content as a single woman, you won’t be content as a married woman. If you’re not content in the house you’re in now, you won’t be content in a bigger, better house. If you’re not content with your husband the way he is, you won’t be content with another one. If you’re not content in the job where you are now, you probably won’t be content with a better job.
Contentment is a choice we make, not a set of circumstances. And when you and I live in discontent, we almost always make bad decisions. The Apostle Paul said he had learned to be content, and we have that choice, as well.
Eve made a wrong decision because she chose to believe the serpent instead of God. He appealed to her “self-esteem” and she bit. She made a quick decision in the midst of an emotional onslaught, and it was a wrong decision. She consulted no one for advice. She didn’t ask Adam what he thought about it. She just caved in to her selfish nature, and in a moment of temptation, she made a bad decision. Basically her decision was to trust the serpent, not God.
Any area of your life where you are not now contented is a potential danger area, ripe for bad decisions. With what or whom are you discontent? Your job? Your looks? Your financial situation? Your mate? Your lack of a mate? Your children? If we don’t learn to be content, we walk right into a danger zone and we are most likely to make bad decisions.
Sarah
Sarah is another example of a woman who made some bad decisions. You remember the story of how she decided to give Hagar, her maid, to her husband so she could bear a child by Abraham, a child that was supposed to become Sarah’s child and the child God had promised to Sarah and Abraham. She didn’t consult God. All she could see were her circumstances: She was old and Abraham was old, so how could they ever have a baby?
She decided that if God was going to give her a son as promised, she would have to help him out. It seems God didn’t know about her biological clock, didn’t understand that she was beyond childbearing years. She didn’t trust God, so she started manipulating circumstances to accomplish God’s will; to get what she wanted, a son.
But then, when Hagar gave birth to a son by Abraham, Sarah didn’t like the decision she had made. She became extremely jealous of Hagar and the baby boy. So what does she do? She heaps a bad decision upon a bad decision. She has Hagar banished along with Ishmael, and that began an enmity that has caused incalculable harm and pain since then.
Her first decision was wrong because she tried to do God’s job. Her second decision was based on jealousy and emotions. Both were very bad decisions.
Suppose she had made the first bad decision, but then, repented and asked God to help her make a right decision. She would not have taken her anger out on Hagar, Hagar and her son would have been included in Abraham’s family, and though Ishmael would not have been Abraham’s son of God’s blessings, as Isaac was to become, still they could have lived together in peace and not allowed this horrendous animosity to develop.
When you’ve made one bad decision, don’t let your emotions cause you to make an even worse one, to try to correct the bad decision. We have to live with our bad decisions many times. Sarah needed to live with Hagar and Ishmael. That might have been uncomfortable at times, but it would have been a whole lot better than what she did.
Perhaps you’ve made a bad first decision, and now you’re trying to come up with a plan to change that bad decision. It may not be changeable. You may be required to live with it.
Example: You married the wrong mate. He or she isn’t a believer and you knew you shouldn’t have married that person, but you wanted to get married, he or she was willing to marry you, you were convinced you were in love and your love could change your mate after you were married. So, now you’re married to the wrong person and you want to manipulate those circumstances and fix that wrong decision.
Marriage is a covenant relationship. You need to do everything in your power to make your marriage work. Short of enduring abuse, the simple fact that your mate doesn’t love Jesus, doesn’t want to go to church with you, and/or doesn’t share your faith in the Lord is not a reason for you to heap another bad decision—divorce—upon that first bad decision.
Bathsheba
Bathsheba could not have been ignorant of what she was doing when she accepted David’s invitation. Was she intimidated by his authority? Or could she have been immensely flattered by his attention? Had she given it some thought, Bathsheba might have realized that all David was after was her body. He had never had a conversation with her as far as we know. The attraction was physical.
So, Bathsheba, for whatever reason, accepted David’s invitation. She did his bidding and suffered the consequences—an unwanted pregnancy. All for that one night of pleasure; all because one man had shown her some attention and she fell under his spell; all because she was unwilling to say no.
We need to be aware that we women can pretty easily make very bad decisions when it comes to men. Why is that? I think it goes back to the curse in Genesis 3. But Galatians 3:13 tells us: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”
Curses are terrible things to be avoided. But Jesus voluntarily became a curse for me and you. Why? Because God’s holiness demanded justice, and the perfect sacrifice had to become sin to satisfy the demands of the law. That curse God enacted in the Garden could not simply be dropped; it had to be carried out. Hence, Jesus became the curse in our place.
No more excuses. You and I do not have to be under the power of that curse. We do not have to be controlled by an uncontrollable desire for a man. Therefore, we do not have to make bad decisions about men. We can be God-controlled, Spirit-controlled, and have a balanced view of our relationships with men.
Sapphira
Sapphira is a New Testament woman who loved God, was a disciple of Jesus Christ, but she made a very bad decision because of her and her husband’s greed. They were members of the early Christian community at Jerusalem, had agreed with others in that community to share all that they had with one another and to contribute to a common treasury to meet the common needs.
Sapphira and her husband were not forced into such an agreement. But they had agreed to it voluntarily, and this agreement had become a sacred pledge for the faithful. Moreover, as Peter clearly stated, it was not required of them that they give up all their property and even after they had sold it, the proceeds still belonged to them to share voluntarily with those in need.
But Sapphira and her husband desired credit for giving all to the Church without actually doing so. They coveted some of the money for themselves and resorted to dishonesty and untruthfulness to keep it.
The love of money can easily cause us to make bad decisions. Paul warned young Timothy that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” Whether you have it or just want it, money can cause very bad decisions.
All of these women had to live with the consequences of their wrong decisions, and you and I often must do the same.