Life’s Most Important Decisions!
Spring 2023
As a teenager, you face many challenges that are different from the ones that your parents faced. It can be frustrating trying to navigate through the many decisions, hurdles, and temptations that come your way. However, there are three specific things that I would like to discuss with you in this article that I believe will help you figure out the three most important decisions you will ever make in your life. These are three things your parents have already had to deal with, and three things your children will have to deal with after you. In fact, everyone who has ever lived has had to deal with these three things. I want to talk to you about life’s master, life’s mate, and life’s mission.
Let’s start by discussing what I mean by life’s master. First, I need to ask if you are saved? Have you ever been born again and decided to follow Jesus? That is the most important decision you will ever make in life. It is at the very top of the list, and nothing comes close to it. Is Jesus your Master, and do you follow Him wholeheartedly? I hope He is, and if He is not, then start here. Make Christ your life’s Master.
There is a wrong way of thinking among some professing Christians, who do not view Christ as their Master: that is, they do not want to be ruled by Him. These people are happy to call themselves Christians and attend church, but their Christianity and church attendance are only outward. Inwardly, they still want to maintain the mastery of their own lives. They might not say it, but their attitude is that they are going to do whatever they want, and no one has the right or authority to tell them otherwise. They are rebels at heart and do not submit to the rule of anyone. For example, can you honestly say that Christ is the Master of the music you listen to? Is He the Master of what you watch on television or what you do online? Would you be embarrassed for Jesus to follow you on Instagram, or would He be pleased with what He sees on your TikTok? If Christ is truly the Master of your life, then it will be evident in the way you live and the things you do.
The second most important decision you will make involves your life’s mate. It is impossible to overstate the importance of the person you decide to marry. You need to understand that the overwhelming testimony of Scripture is that it is God’s plan and purpose for young men and women to get married. There are rare exceptions such as the gift of celibacy perhaps alluded to in 1 Corinthians 7:7, but the biblical norm is for young people to desire marriage. The current trend of young adults waiting until their 30’s or later to get married is not following a biblical model.
Concerning your life’s mate, you must marry in the Lord. Paul specifically states that a Christian is not to be unequally yoked together with an unbeliever (2 Corinthians 6:14). Never date or pursue an unbeliever. Regardless of what you might think, dating is not for the purpose of evangelism. If they are not saved, they are automatically off the list of options. From the believers you have left to choose from, they should be demonstrating that they have made Christ their life’s Master. Simply being saved is not good enough. Look for someone who is growing in his or her relationship with the Lord. After that, there are other values to consider like their family background, personality, character, etc. Many young people have destroyed their future by choosing the wrong mate. For example, a rebellious wife can disqualify a young man from the ministry or even from holding a church office (1 Timothy 3:4–5; 11–12). It is difficult to overstate the importance of whom you marry, and it is also difficult to overstate the joys of marrying that one who God has designed to be your helper in life.
Life’s mission is the third most important decision you will ever make. “What are you going to be when you grow up?” is the question that you may have already been asked a thousand times. It is a valid question because God He has designed for you to work. Some are surprised to learn that work existed before the Fall in the Garden of Eden. The difference was that work was not laborious and Adam did not try to avoid it. After the Fall, work began to involve the “sweat of thy face” (Genesis 3:19). Even with its difficulties, life’s mission that God has for you can be very rewarding and satisfying. Some young people try to select a career based on their interests or the salary potential that a job might fulfill. A Christian young person’s primary question in selecting life’s mission must be “What does God want me to do?” Chasing a paycheck should not be the Christian’s vocational objective.
One of the lasting benefits of the Protestant Reformation is the teaching that all legitimate work is sacred in the sight of God. In fact, Martin Luther said, “The works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they may be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks . . . All works are measured before God by faith alone.” While personal happiness is not necessarily the end goal, you will be the happiest when you find God’s will for your life’s mission and do it with all your heart. It does not matter if God calls you young men to preach or to work at the local garbage facility—as long as you are following Christ as life’s Master and following the Lord’s mission, you will be a happy man. As a young woman, you may be called to the mission field or as a godly homemaker with little ones of your own. Either way, as long as you are following the Lord as life’s Master and following life’s mission God has set for you, you will be a happy woman.
Finding life’s Master, life’s mate, and life’s mission are the three most important decisions you will ever make. I would encourage you to discuss these things with your parents. If you have godly parents, they will want God’s best for you. Pray together about these things and seek the Lord’s direction in these most important decisions of life.
Rev. Derrick Bowman