But it doesn’t stop by simply asking, “What is the wise thing to do?” There is so much more to consider. Simply asking the question may not immediately reveal the answer. If we are not trained to think wisely and make wise decisions, we can still be decieved by the answer that we come up with. The question must then be run through some filters that will help clear the fog of uncertainty away. I’m sure there are many filters, but we talked about 4 in particular.

1. My Future. Hopefully everyone has goals and plans for their life. Hopefully those plans and goals are part of God’s plan for our lives. If they aren’t, well, that is another topic in itself. It’s easy for us to get sidetracked by things that we think are good decisions but lead us farther away from our destiny. But if we take our options, and ask it like this: “In light of my future and where God wants me to be, what is the wise thing to do?” in other words, is this choice going to cause me to linger or launch toward my destiny? Will this choice help me reach the future that God has for me?

A great example of this is a dating relationship. I know of far too many people that get into a relationship with someone because they are attractive, or maybe they have a great personality. But very few people look through the lens of the future when it comes to a dating relationship. Rarely is the question asked, “Will this person help me get to my God-given destiny?” Instead, we look simply at the here and now, and ask, “Can I be happy right now? Even if it’s just for a moment?” Sadly, that type of thinking stems from something very deep, and is a topic for another day. If we focus on what is ahead, and make decisions toward that mark, we will find that less time is wasted cleaning up messes that we made and more time is spent on running towards our goal.

2. My Failures. Everyone has areas where they have failed. Areas where they simply cannot keep it together, and they make mistakes. Areas where they consistently make mistakes in. It could be sin, it could be stupidity. Hopefully, we are aware of those areas, and can put up safeguards to ensure that we don’t fall in them again. Once again, the question applies beautfully here by saying, “In light of my failures, what is the wise thing to do?” If one of our options causes us to entertain an area of personal weakness, it should be avoided at all costs. When we ask this question, the answer once again becomes very clear what we should do. If what I am doing is going to cause me to flirt with the weak areas of my life, then I shouldn’t do it.

An example of this would be drinking. I don’t want to get into the symantics of drinking and what the Bible says. I have seen alcoholism destroy far too many people’s lives, so I choose the side of avoidance. But someone that gets saved that has a history of drinking should not be around other people that are continuing such behavior. I believe strongly in the power of God, but I also believe strongly in the power of poor choices and influences. Continuing to be around the thing that once bound us is a fool’s choice.

3. My Integrity. Sorry, I couldn’t think of one that started with an “F.” Our integrity, our character, who we are, is perhaps the most important thing that we have. I submit that it’s even greater than our salvation. Before stones are thrown at me, let me say it this way. We can be saved, and mess up, and God in his grace forgives us. But we can be saved, mess up, and man may not forgive us. We can do irreparable damage to people and taint their view of God by doig something that destroys our integrity. Granted, our integrity stems out of our relationship with God. I live in holiness because it pleases the heart of God. True integrity comes from a heart that says, “I want to be like Christ.” That is where true character lies, in becoming like Christ.

So then the question becomes, “In light of my character and who Christ is making me, what is the wise thing to do?” Will this choice puncture or propel my character? Will this enhance who I am? Will this lead me into the character of God?

4. My Followers. This one kind of goes with number 3, but I wanted to mention is separately. John Maxwell said that even the most introverted person will influence over 10,000 people in their lifetime. That blows me away. There is always someone that is looking up to you, whether you are making wise choices or not. No matter what you are doing in life, SOMEONE is following you. I have heard it said that you will teach what you know, but you will impart who you are. This involves character (number 3) as well as the followers. Someone is following me, so I must make wise choices for their benefit as well as my own. So the questions becomes, “In light of those that follow me, what is the wise thing to do?”

My choices will affect those that follow me, whether I know they are following or not. I am called to be like Christ, and my actions should exhibit that. Pastor Bret Allen once said, “If I have a bad day, a student could have a bad life.” What this means is that I can have a bad day, but I should handle it the way Christ would. This ensures that I take nothing out on a student, and that they always see the attitude of Christ.

My part in this was to lead the college group, called “The Uprising.” For the discussion, I talked a out the Best Question Ever, and broke it into two parts, since I also will lead the usual Sunday night discussion this week as well.

Many times, people wind up in a place where they ask, “How did I get here?” The problem isn’t that they plan to screw up their lives, but rather that they didn’t plan not to. People don’t plan on having a failing marriage, but few plan not to. They don’t plan on being in huge financial debt, but few plan not to. They don’t plan on going from relationship to relationship, ending up with pieces of a broken heart, but few plan not to. Nobody plans on being addicted to substances, but those that are rarely plan not to. So the problem becomes a lack of safeguards against things that can derail our lives. We just get in the car and drive without consulting a map, checking the car to be sure it’s ready for the trip, making sure it has enough gas to get there, etc. We don’t plan ahead, we just go because we don’t ask the Best Question Ever.

Perhaps the greatest realization we can come to is that we are masters of self-deception. We can talk ourselves into a terrible idea. I can convince myself that a poor choice is a good one, because somehow the rules don’t apply to me. I am somehow superior than the odds, and can maneuver my way through it. But in the end, I discover that I too have made a grave mistake.

The Best Question Ever clearly defines for us how to proceed in our decision making process. The question is simply, “What is the wise thing to do?” By itself, not much of an epiphany. But if you think about the questions that we normally ask when making decisions, it is a HUGE breakthrough in our decision making that can keep us from derailing our lives.

Typically, we ask ourselves a series of 4 questions. The questions are usually in our subconscious, and are rooted in the before-mentioned self-deception.

The first question is, “Is there anything wrong with this?” The problem with this question is simply, we are focusing on the wrong thing. In essence, we are basing our decision making solely on whether it’s right or wrong. But in a clear perspective, is there anything wrong with buying a car? Of course not. The issue here isn’t whether it’s morally right or wrong to buy a car, but whether it’s financially feasible to do such. The Best Question Ever causes me to ask, “Can I afford the car payments? The insurance?” At that point, I can then make a wiser decision. Wisdom isn’t NECESSARILY rooted in morality, although morality plays a big part in wisdom.

The focus of that question really leads us to a second question, “How close to the edge can I get before I do something wrong?” In Christian terms, “how close to sin can I get before I cross over and do something sinful?” This of course is an error in thinking. Jesus never called us to live near the edge, but rather to walk with the mind of Christ.

If we operate in the thinking of, “How close can I get before going over?” this will eventually lead us to the third question, “How far OVER the edge can I go before the consequences become unmanageable?” So here, we are ok with some consequences of our actions, but because we are masters at self-deception, we somehow think that we are above the circumstances, and can “get out whenever we want.”

Then we find ourselves asking the fourth question, “How did I end up here?” And we realize that we have made a huge mess of things. Somewhere along the way, someone warned us, maybe we even felt it ourselves, but we thought we could handle it, then we find ourselves crying out for help because we have hit rock bottom.

Good is the enemy of best. Our typical line of thinking causes us to settle for good when God designed and destined us to have the best. I believe the number 1 strategy of the Devil is to get believers to settle for good. If believers caught on and started living their lives for the absolute best that God has for them instead of settling for good, we would see a dramatic change in this nation towards God. But the enemy has lulled us into settling for what is good instead of what is best.