Making Choices

The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. (Psalm 25:9)

Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. (Deuteronomy 1:17)

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. (Psalm 73:24)

The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. (Proverbs 11:3)

We know basically what a meek person is, one who is willing to be taught by God and willing to be overruled when appropriate.

But what does it mean for God to guide someone in judgment? I want God to guide me, I want to make the best decisions and God has access to all the information to make the very best decisions. I want God's help, but how would he help me?

First, what is judgment? God says in Psalm 25 that he will guide the meek in judgment. What is that? Deuteronomy 1:17 is one of many examples where the word "judgment" (Hebrew: Mishpat) is used elsewhere in Scripture. Essentially, the word is similar to the concept of "deciding", sometimes between a right and a wrong, sometimes between two options, but often in very complex situations. We could call it "situational wisdom" the ability to apply wisdom in a specific situation, where true wisdom is sharing God's paradigm (world view) to build other knowledge onto and to back up decisions. So judgment is the mental ability to make decisions. Should I call this person? When should I call this person? How should I speak to this person? All these decisions are made by the judgment of the mind, so how does God influence the judgment of the mind? Does he want me to pray "God, please open a door/ close a door/ give me a sign/ give me an impression/ give me a 6 on the dice/ appear to me in a vision." We shall see. What does "guide" mean?

Psalm 73:24 teaches us that God will guide us using his counsel. What is counsel? Counsel is advice. That is probably why God guides the meek, because they are the ones who are willing to take advice. If you follow Buddha's counsel you will probably have a reasonably happy life, you just won't live forever. If you follow Joe Blow's  counsel you will probably be miserable and relieved when death comes, because the chances of him being wise are slim (this is a generic name for the average person). If you follow God's counsel he will use this to inform your decision-making process. The Bible is full of God's advice, not all of the Bible is full of requirements, a lot of it is counsel from Christ. Correct counsel is what your brain needs to make the best decisions.

Also, Proverbs 11:3 instructs us that good people are guided in decision-making by their integrity. What is integrity? It is not so much always doing right, but it is refusing to do wrong even when you would really like to. So God teaches us that when making a decision, we can always know that a choice that goes against his holy moral law is always going to be a bad choice. So if I am deciding what to say to someone I should choose to say things that are not likely to hurt them in the long term. I may need to say things that hurt now, to prevent greater hurt later. But sometimes saying something they really want to hear now could result in harm in the future, this is where wisdom is needed.

God guides my decision making process. He does it for anyone who is willing to be taught and ruled by him. He does it by giving me the Bible to read and absorb both his requirements and his advice.

Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. (Proverbs 23:19)

I am required to guide my own heart, God will not guide it. My heart is the deepest part of me, however you define it. But the Bible does not say: "The meek will guide themselves in judgment" It says "The meek will he guide in judgment" Ultimately, God takes responsibility to guide me if I am reading and following. The rational decisions that you make based on your best knowledge of his word and prayerful willingness to go with his agenda will be the right decisions, they will be exactly what God wanted you to do.

This is how you can know God's will for your life, and what God wants you to do today.