Chossing between right and right

The following excerpt is taken from an article printed in Marriage Partnership. I love the explanation about the two kinds of decisions we face and how the author describes priority decisions....read on!

Q. You've said decisions are of two kinds. What are they?

A. Aside from minor decisions, like which way to drive home from work, they tend to be moral decisions or priority decisions. Moral decisions are choices between right and wrong. To make the wrong choice is sin. The power to make correct moral decisions results from our desire to have integrity and the enabling power of God.

But priority decisions are choices between right and right. They represent our choices about how to allocate our time and money. Deciding whether to take your wife out to dinner or play ball in the city league that night is a priority decision. Working on Saturday mornings or spending that time with family is a priority choice. Investing in the stock market or staying liquid is a choice between two acceptable alternatives. The only imperative in making priority decisions is to be wise—to choose between good, better, and best.

But aren't some decisions really both?

Yes, decisions with both moral and priority implications are not merely about how to spend time and money, but carry with them the full weight of God's principles. Buying a new car is a simple priority decision when transportation is the consideration. But the decision to buy a luxury car we covet which robs money from higher priorities, like savings pledged to college tuition or tithing, takes on the added dimension of a moral issue—a choice between right and wrong.

Patrick Morley, formerly in real estate, now serves the Christian men's movement. Adapted from The Man in the Mirror (Zondervan, 1989) by permission.

The author says that the way to make priority decisions is to be wise. So it is with marriage. Daily we can choose between two right things, to good options, two wonderful opportunities on how to spend our time and energy. But in order to make our marriage a priority, we have to ask ourselves what is the WISE thing to do? What is the BEST thing to do?

And ladies I believe it starts with us. In my home, my husband will almost always choose family as a priority. I, on the other hand, have a multitude of activities and events to choose from and some are very tempting.

I am thankful for the advice of using wisdom when choosing my priorities.