Why choosing the wrong partner can be the ultimate bad decision
By Dean Collins
You pay a price when you make a bad decision. I’ve made some and I’ve paid for them. Some bad decisions can linger for a long time. Some bad decisions are even signed with ink in contracts. If you break the contract there is pain, and if you don’t there is pain. Sometimes you simply must choose your pain and endure until it’s finally over.
I doubt any of us wake up one morning and start looking to make bad decisions. Some bad decisions are made as the result of feeling stuck or pressured. Some come because we haven’t done our due diligence. Some happen out of ignorance. Sometimes stubbornness can lead to bad decisions. No matter the circumstance, enduring these bad decisions is like having a bag of sand tied around your feet. You feel the weight in every step.
Sharing a mission
As followers of Jesus we are called to live in community. Scripture never tells us just to do our own thing or live as if we have our own island to manage. This means as kingdom people we will become partners with each other regularly as we participate in the renewal and restoration projects that God daily calls us to tackle. This is why Paul wrote about the importance of being equally yoked in our partnerships. If our partners in life, business, marriage, or anywhere don’t share our kingdom mission, then we have problems. Weighty ones.
Proverbs is a book filled with wisdom for daily life. It also contains numerous examples of poor decisions and their outcomes. Proverbs 27:3 got me thinking about one of my bad decisions. It came at a time of enormous pressure to solve a business problem that impacted my customers. My colleagues and board members were all determined to help solve this difficult problem. We spent months trying to find a solution. Time seemed to be against us. And finally I made a decision. Yes, it solved the problem, but it brought many new problems. And most of these problems had to do with the person we chose as our partner. The decision was right, but the partners were wrong.
My partner had a habit of provoking us regularly. My partner was simply not focused on our mission. And for years I felt the weight of the heavy stone and the bag of sand that the wise writer of Proverbs spoke about.
Lifting the weight
Eventually the partnership ended and the weight was lifted. As I think about this verse today my determination is to avoid carrying a bag of rocks in the future. Being constantly provoked is not only not fun; it leads to discouragement and distracts from mission. I suspect the best prevention for these sorts of problems is to seek God’s wisdom in every decision and especially in choosing who will be our partners.
Your time with God’s Word
Proverbs 27:3; 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 ESV
Photo by Nicole Baster on Unsplash
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