My Beach Ball Decision

Read Time / 2 Minutes

Theme / Wisdom for Life

I was four years old and facing my first major decision in life.  I was enjoying a day at the beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with my family and my new beachball.  It was just an ordinary looking inflatable beach ball, but I thought it was the best present ever from my parents!  What I didn’t realize was how easily it could blow away, and soon the breeze blew it off the beach and into the waves.  My world was shattered!  Panic overtook me as I saw my beach ball caught in the waves, perhaps never to be seen again.  My four-year-old mind had to make a big decision, and quickly.

No matter our age, we all have major decisions to make in life.  Having a proven process to follow leads us to making wise decisions.  Ron Blue, co-founder of Kingdom Advisors (a professional organization of Christian Financial Advisors) and considered to be the father of Christian financial planning, offers a ten-step decision-making model.

1.       Pray. (“Have I prayed about it?”)  James 1:5 encourages us to ask for wisdom from above.

2.       Define the decision. (“What is the question?”)

3.       Clarify your objectives. (“What are the decision criteria?”)

4.       Prioritize the objectives: (“What are the non-negotiables?” “What are the trade-offs?”)

5.       Identify the alternatives.

6.       Evaluate the alternatives. (“What are the facts relative to the alternatives?”)

7.       Make a preliminary decision.

8.       Assess the risk. (“What’s the worst thing that could happen, and how likely is that to happen? Can I live with it if it does?”)

9.       Make the final decision.

10.   Test the decision.  (“Is there a biblical promise that God gives relative to the decision?” The Bible has over 2,300 verses on money alone!  “Based on Ephesians 5:21, what does my spouse think of the decision?” “Based on Philippians 4:6-7, do I have peace about the decision?”)

How did this decision-making process apply to my beach ball crisis?  Well… after my four-year-old mind quickly assessed the risks of wading in to get the beach ball myself (a shark eating me, a whale swallowing me, or a mermaid carrying me off), I decided to cry as loud as I could until my parents came to the rescue.  It worked!  The moral of the story: we all need a process to make decisions.

Doug Hanson, MBA

Wealth Advisor

208.697.3699

doug@christianwm.com