“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2

To decide is to consider available options and make a choice or judgment about, to prefer one or more over other(s). In a sense, that is what life is all about – a series of decisions made time and time again everyday of one’s existence. Once you return to consciousness from sleep, you have the option of praying to begin your day or not; to get out of bed or not; to brush, bath, eat, work, talk, watch TV, operate your phone, or not. Sometimes you may be compelled to decide, but most times you are free to choose of your own volition. Some decisions may have immediate consequences, some may not. Even those that appear to be inert in the moment usually build up to being consequential in the long run. In the mains, the choices we have to make are between two options: good or bad. Or to use the term in the title, they may be ethical or unethical. What is ethical has to involve and conform to morality.

Our first parents, Mr Adam & Mrs Eve God, were confronted with decision making very early in their existence. God placed them in a garden with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, whose fruit they were forbidden from even touching, much less tasting. They had to decide, at the prompting of Satan, to either go against the divine injunction or keep to it. Their decisions were to be either ethical or unethical. They made their choice and, as they say, the rest is history. Since then, humanity has had to make similar decisions everyday on almost everything; there is hardly any choice that is morally neutral. Even what appears to be benign momentarily, can turn out to be not so later.

Some decisions may have immediate consequences, some may not. Even those that appear to be inert in the moment usually build up to being consequential in the long run.

In Conflict with Each Other

From the moment Satan rebelled against God and was cast down to earth, the earth has become a place where we are faced with making right or wrong choices. The options before you are most of the time of good or evil. The difference between them is as day and night, light and darkness, flesh and spirit. Make no mistake about it, God is good and is the force behind all that is good while Satan is evil and is the force behind all that is evil. These forces are at work to influence your life in opposing directions and the conflict is eternal and irreconcilable. Paul says, “the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5:17). The Living Bible says, “these two forces within us are constantly fighting each other to win control over us, and our wishes are never free from their pressures” (my emphasis). The choices you have to make are never free from their influence, their pressures.

Not Without Consequence

If the pressures put on our choices by the Spirit and the flesh were inconsequential, we would be free to do whatever we want. But it is not so. In Romans 8:5, the Bible says, “those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires”. It is the nature, Spiritual or fleshly, that the mind is set on, that will determine what choices are made. Remember, as he thinks in his heart, so is he. The consequences are in the following verse: “To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace” (Romans 8:6). Who wants to die? Who doesn’t want life and peace? Because our choices, influenced by either the Spirit or the flesh have life and death repercussions, there’s the need to be wise in making them. Our decisions have got to be ethical. The counsel of Deuteronomy 30:19 is this: “choose life.” Your choices will tell what option you prefer.

Because our choices, influenced by either the Spirit or the flesh have life and death repercussions, there’s the need to be wise in making them.

Making Ethical Decisions

In heaven, you will not be faced with the challenge of unethical choices. It is while you live in this corrupt world that you are called upon to make ethical decisions. So how do you go about doing that?

1. You must be born again. It is the person who has received Christ as Lord and Saviour that receives the gift of the Spirit and is led by him. Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God. Only the Spirit can lead you into making ethical decisions.
2. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The Spirit doesn’t take up residence in a believer to be inactive. He sanctifies and transforms us by changing the way we think. Before conversion, you had a way of thinking crafted by the world in which you live; that mind-set swayed your choices. Now that you are born again, that needs to change. The Bible says to “not copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Colossians 3:2 also admonishes that you “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” When you yield to the Spirit and your mind is set on heavenly things, the unethical things of this world will lose their appeal to you. Your decisions will be influenced by the Spirit.
3. Let the word of God be the final authority for all things, big or small, in your life. In life, you will have small decisions to make like what to eat in a moment and big decisions like who to get married to. Across all the varieties of choices you will have to make, let the word of God be your guide. The Psalmist said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). Let the word be your own guide too. Even in instances where you cannot find a direct command of scripture on a set of choices before you, a mind renewed and steeped in scripture and led by the Spirit will make Spirit-led, ethical choices.
4. Seek wise counsel. “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). Be not wise in your own eyes, don’t think you know it all. It is the wise and strong who seek wise counsel for their decisions. The fool continues in his folly because he thinks he knows it all. The emphasis here is on wise, godly counsel, not just any counsel.
5. Avoid bad company. The flip side of the point above is to avoid wrong company and counsel. This is so important that it has to be mentioned separately. The Bible is unequivocal: ‘Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character”’ (1 Corinthians 15:33). If there was even a hint that bad company may or may not corrupt good character, we would talk about possible mitigations in the midst of bad company. But scripture is emphatic: bad company corrupts good character. Your character is the sum of your choices. In 2 Samuel 13, even though Amnon lusted after Tamar, he was unable to gratify his lust. It was Jonadab, his very shrewd friend, who counselled him on what to do. He ended up violating his sister and in the end, he lost his life. Bad company, bad advice, immoral choice, death. Choose your company.
6. Recognize that you are in a corrupt world. While you are here, never forget your identity as a child of God. Always be conscious of the fact that because your citizenship is in heaven, the choices you will have to make will many times go against the grain of society. If needed, never shy away from holding heterodox opinions. Be prepared to stand alone.
7. Familiarize yourself with the law. Societies are governed by laws; familiarize yourself with them, wherever you are. Is the place you are attempting to park your vehicle a restricted area? Is the road you are on a one-way lane? What is the speed limit? What is the prescribed uniform for where you school or work? When you fail to make the correct decision because you didn’t know what was required, remember that ignorance of the law is not an acceptable excuse. Let ignorance not be your undoing.
8. Resolve that you will ALWAYS do the right thing. Let this not be a decision you make in the heat of the moment but have your mind already made up: “I will always do what is right”. Your chances of making ethical decisions are increased if you pre-determine so. The Bible says of Daniel that he “resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine” (Daniel 1:8). It is not in the moment that a sumptuous meal with a tantalizing aroma and appealing aesthetics is before you that you make such a decision. You don’t decide not to take wine at the point when it is poured into a transparent tumbler and the bubbles are rising to the top; it is a decision made before then but kept to in spite of. And God will “fulfil every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:12).
9. Pray. Jesus said, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). The spirit may be willing, but it is resident in a weak flesh that carries it about to where it may not want to go; can see things that appeal to the flesh and not the spirit; the flesh can and does become hungry. You remember those stones that he was asked to turn into bread? Jesus was hungry, but coming from the place of prayer enabled him to make the right choice. Turning stones into bread may appear morally and ethically neutral, but it was food that got Eve and Adam and us all into trouble. Watch, and pray!
10. Guard your heart. The wise man says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Above all else – above your money, above your certificates, above your investments, savings, treasures and precious possessions – guard your heart. Why? It shapes your life; it is the wellspring of your life; it influences everything else in your life, determining the course of your life. The state of your heart will determine what choices you make, ethical or otherwise. Be careful where you go, what you hear and what you see.

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