Proverbs of the Week:
Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart. Prov. 18:18
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. Prov. 16:33
Meditation: Decisions...Decisions!
Suppose you had two job options. Both jobs provided what you needed. Both jobs were in your field of specialty. Both were identical in so many ways. How would you decide between them?
Or suppose your organization is deciding how best to move forward. Your board, composed of a variety of individuals, sits down at the table to determine their next move. What comes from the meeting are two choices. How do they decide which path to walk?
Or again two individuals are qualified for a certain position, say pastor. How does the church decide which of the two candidates God is leading you to choose? How is that decision, or any decision for that matter in the church, made? By executive order? By majority vote? Or by some other means?
The book of Proverbs today points us back to an ancient way of decision-making, a way that might seem foreign or alien to many of us. It’s called “casting lots”. Here’s how it works. When decisions needed to be made in faith or life, the ancients didn’t vote. They didn’t raise their hands and count opinions. Instead rolled dice, flipped a coin, or drew straws to determine God’s will. Whatever the lots said was listened to...and accepted. For the decision that followed was God’s.
This might seem absurd to our standards. A cultural practice fossilized in Scripture. Still there is wisdom here. This practice prevents one person or group from dominating the decision. There was arguing, no political debates. Only the presentation of possibilities and the lot was cast. And, for the most part, it worked to decide! Many things in fact. You can read all about how the lot was cast to determine God’s will in an article here.
Probably the most well-known account of the lot being cast occurred just after the Resurrection when the disciples use this very method to determine which person would replace Judas as the next 12th disciple.
“[Peter said] ‘Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us...For one of them to become a witness with us of his resurrection.’
So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.”(Acts 1:21-26)
Notice what the apostles did here. First they narrowed down the choices. They wanted someone who’d been a witness of Jesus Christ, who’d been with them from the beginning. Then they proposed the two candidates to God. Then they cast the lot and let it fall where they will. And the best part of all... NO ONE WAS UPSET! At least that seems the case. Matthias doesn’t storm out of the room distraught and discouraged. He doesn’t go off and form his own group of disciples. Matthias accepts that he’s not chosen and that choice has nothing to do with the opinion of the majority. The Lord has had the final decision.
In America and in America’s churches, we trust the majority. We trust that the majority of the people have the best interests of the whole in mind. After all the options have been laid out, we hand out little papers and pencils, and put our decisions in the majority’s hands, trusting that the opinion of the majority is in the best interest of the whole. We trust the majority over the lot.
But even this method is flawed. Even the rule of the majority does not prevail. For what happens when the vote fails? What happens when even the voice of the majority is dismissed? What happens when the decision isn’t accepted, even after the vote is cast?
I know a church who voted down leaving their denomination, not once, not twice, but four times! Still, despite being told by the majority of their members this was not to happen, the pastor and a little group around him pushed for more and more meetings until, in the end, their will prevailed and the congregation, which had by this time lost most of its members, left their denomination.
Majority rule has it’s problems and so does casting lots. For, unless everyone agrees to accept the decision of the dice, chances are no decision will ever be made. But however we decide, personally or socially, one thing is clear. No matter how we make our decisions, we must consider too what God wants too. We must call out for God to influence our decision. We must open ourselves up to the possibility that maybe God might do a NEW thing here, like God did a new thing in Jesus Christ. And we must trust God. Trust that God has a say in the matter and cares what happens there too.
For me, making decisions in my life, I try to look at all the possibilities. I try to listen to my gut, to feel the decision out rather than think it out. Some choices might look like good choices from the start, but they just feel wrong. I pray(a lot) and ask God to guide my decision. Then I step out, decide, and leave the rest in God’s hands.
So the next time when you’re facing a decision, when you’re trying to decide which path to choose and you just can’t choose between them, stop. Take a minute to pray, asking God to direct your decision. Then step into that decision in faith, for God is with you and will be with you no matter what you choose to the very end. Amen!
Questions to Answer
1. Think about a time when you had to make a tough decision in your life. How did you choose what to do and what not to do?
2. Do you agree with Proverbs’ advice here? Should we start casting lots to decide things, placing the lot in God’s hands? How else might we include God in our decisions?
3. How else could we allow God to become a part of every decision that we make?
End With Prayer
Almighty God, you have plans for our lives, to prosper us and not to harm us. Lead us in your footsteps. Forgive us when we stumble. And guide our every decision, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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