The Power of Choice
Shane Philpott

Pastor and Preacher, Shane Philpott has dedicated his life to helping people put into action the tools, strategies, and attitudes to produce results in their Christian walk. He is the pastor of Christian Fellowship Church in Mason City, Iowa, which he and his wife pioneered in 1993.

Shane is a passionate preacher whose drive, energy and enthusiasm serve to encourage others, and his heart is to help believers, ministers, and churches alike. Shane believes in the power of vision, the rewards of faith, and that both traits are contagious. He is a vigorous, “message-to-the-streets” communicator whose desire is that truth and balance would thrive in the body of Christ.

Shane has been happily married to his wife, Lisa, for over twenty-two years. They have three sons and three daughters, four of which they adopted from China.

Visit www.shanephilpott.org or find Shane Philpott on Facebook.

The dynamics of choice and decision have always fascinated me. The realization that an individual can literally make or break their life as the result of their decisions is quite sobering. When one considers the fact that the choices they will make today will determine the quality and standing of their life in ten, twenty, or thirty years, the power and effects of those decisions becomes crystal clear. Author Richard Bach said, “Some choices we live not only once but a thousand times over, remembering them for the rest of our lives.”

While it would be nice to have the opportunity to make each and every decision in perfect conditions, that isn’t always the case. Truthfully, that is rarely the case. Many times, decisions are made in the spur of the moment and with little forethought. Coupled together with the fact that every decision brings with it a vast array of influencing factors such as emotions, pressure from other people, as well as unknown information, you can quickly end up with a recipe for potential disaster. This frequently is the situation today, which is precisely why so many people are making so many “bad decisions” on a regular basis. When a person makes one bad decision after another, the quality of their life will always suffer in direct proportion to the choices they are making. This is why Wayne Dyer said, “Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made.”

We should not be ignorant of the fact that God has set before us a great number of important decisions. He knows the importance and the value of each choice that people make. He also knows that our decisions will either aid us or block us in accessing the fullness of our destiny.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NASB)
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days …

It has become apparent today that many have lost the ability to make wise, Bible-based decisions without large amounts of influence and pressure from others. There was a day when a person would take pride in the fact that the decision they made was prudent, sensible, and intelligently thought out. However, while traveling on today’s fast-paced, social and media driven information highway, the ability for other people to influence a person’s choices has increased exponentially. Frequently, we find our decisions being subjected to and influenced by a host of people we don’t even know. If bad company will corrupt good character, then bad advice will corrupt good decisions.

Because so much of our lives are spent in the company of others, it is imperative that we understand the mechanics of how other people can negatively influence our choices. Many times we do not recognize what is happening, just as those around us may not recognize what they are doing. Decisions made in haste and influenced with undue pressure will always come back to haunt people. Benjamin Franklin said, “Take time for all things. Great haste makes great waste.” It is for these very reasons that extensive research has been done over the past fifty years on the dynamics of bad decisions and why people continue to make those types of choices.

One study revealed a phenomenon known as “The Spiral of Silence.” The spiral of silence is a communication theory set forth by the German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann that describes the process by which one opinion becomes dominant because those who perceive their opinion to be in the minority do not speak up for fear of isolation. Peer pressure does not end with High School. Many adults find themselves pressured and swayed by those whom they associate with on a continual basis. The vast amount of people today are fearful to speak up for themselves and find that their decisions are being made for them by others. It is vitally important for Christians to not “go with the flow,” especially in today’s ever-changing and fickle culture.

Another occurrence of decisions being negatively influenced is found in the book of Acts. As a result of Paul’s preaching against idolatry in Ephesus, a silversmith and men of similar occupations felt that their income and prosperity was being threatened. Eventually, the people were stirred up into a rage and a riot broke out.

Acts 19:32 (NASB)
So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.

This is a classic example of what is called the “Bandwagon Effect.” The bandwagon effect is a well-documented form of behavioral conduct in which beliefs spread quickly among people with “the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion whom have already done so.” As more people decide to believe in something, increasingly more people “hop on the bandwagon,” regardless of the underlying evidence or consequences of their choices.

When the bandwagon effect happens in the lives of Christians, the results can be devastating. It can be so easy to get carried away with the majority, where important decisions are made by the group, rather than by an individual. By letting others who are undoubtedly less qualified than ourselves make decisions for us, we ultimately forfeit the fullness and the best of what God has planned for us. The great detriment of this behavior is people override and often ignore their own beliefs and then make certain bad decisions because other people are making them as well.

Author Steve Maraboli wrote, “At any given point you can release your greatest self. Don’t let anyone hold you back. Don’t let anyone dilute you. Don’t be peer pressured into being less than you are. People willing to dilute themselves for the sake of others is one of the great tragedies of our time. Stop letting others define and set the pace for your life. Get out there and be your best. Do your best. Live your best. Make every day count and you’ll see how exponentially more exciting, thrilling, successful, happy and full your life will be.”

Additionally, one of the most treacherous decision-making traps is known as an “Information Cascade.” This conduct occurs when, “a person observes the actions and decisions of others and then, despite possible contradictions in his or her own private information signals, engages in the same acts or decisions. A cascade develops, then, when people abandon their own information in favor of inferences based on earlier people’s actions or decisions.” Oftentimes this type of conduct leads to group conformity or herd behavior. Once again, decisions are not just influenced but are also being made by others who have no direct interest in the health or well-being of the individual.

The best way to overcome the downward spiral of bad decision-making is to take the time necessary to train our spirits to hear clearly from God. With the busyness of the times and the hectic pace of life, many people are finding it more and more difficult to find the needed time to meditate on God’s Word, pray with diligence, and learn how to listen to the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 20:27 (NASB)
The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being.

God will always lead His people with peace, even though there may be storms on all sides. The Lord loves His people, and thankfully there is ample grace and mercy for the many times we have undoubtedly made unwise decisions. Fortunately, God will utilize our spirit to shine His light on every part of our lives, including our decisions. When we take the time and make the effort to get wise counsel, pray about it, and be led by the Holy Spirit, we can be assured that our choices will be sound and precise.

Finally, it would do us good to ask ourselves, “Will the results of this decision serve to define me or serve to destroy me?” There is nothing wrong with being honest with ourselves. Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.” The person who makes every effort to make good choices and protect their decision-making process will be the one who is neither saddened nor ashamed when they give an account of their life.