“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.” Proverbs 11:30
Every basketball player can tell you of a time that a coach has preached about the opportunity to pass on a good shot for a great shot. For example, if a player on the wing has a chance to shoot but has a defender contesting the shot, the result may be that he makes the basket, which could be considered a good choice. However, the better decision would have been to make the extra pass to an open teammate who would have a higher percentage of making the shot. This would be considered a wise decision.
One distinction of a wise decision versus a good choice would be the long-term result. A good choice brings only short-term satisfaction while a wise decision provides long-term benefits. In our above example, the short-term satisfaction would be that the defended player made the basket on this possession. In contrast, if the player would’ve made the extra pass to his non-defended teammate, his decision would give the team more of a chance to make the basket, build team camaraderie, and, in future games, it would be more likely that his teammates would pass him the ball.
The difference between a good choice and a wise decision is sometimes difficult to decipher, but every choice has a trajectory of where it will lead—with either consequences or rewards. Paul refers to this in I Corinthians when he says, “Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial” (10:23). Our lives are made up of a series of good choices versus wise decisions, but knowing the difference can help ensure that we are bringing glory to God with our lives through our decisions.
By Hope Zeller
Hope Zeller works for DistinXion, a non-profit organization that provides elite basketball and cheerleading training, while also building family relationships through character training.This devotional was taken from Sports Spectrum’s latest Training Table, a 13-week devotional published in each print issue. Log in HERE to view the Summer 2015 print issue of Sports Spectrum or access the Summer 2015 Training Table.
