The Business Forum on 9 June 2010 was opened with Piet Lindeque speaking on the matter of making good decisions, and being decisive. This is one of those important keys to be successful in business. An outline of Piet’s discussions follows:

Title – Making good decisions

1. 1.    Introduction:

Big decisions are made based on correct information, but ultimately are determined and sealed by the right conviction which comes from the heart.           

1. 2.    Tending the heart for strong convictions:

• Scripture: Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
• Analogy of a reservoir. If all is well in the reservoir, the water is plentiful and pure. The heart is the reservoir of a man’s life.
• We as Christians who love the Lord should tend our hearts if we want the stream of our lives happy and to the benefit and blessing of others, including our workplace.

1. 3.    Ways to tend the heart

• Keep it full
  • If the reservoir is full, there is supply to all.
  • Fill it with the Word of God, prayer, church, carrying the Light in our hearts
  • Develop a passion for your work. We have to love it to enjoy it.
  • If the heart is full of the right stuff, decisions will be easier
• Keep the heart pure
  • If the water in the reservoir is polluted, the water we drink will be polluted too.
  • If our hearts are impure, our lives will be impure, and our ability to make clear, good decisions will be clouded.
  • Like Moses at Marah who cast a wooden log in the brackish water to make it drinkable for the Israelites, so must we take that log, the Cross of Christ, and allow it to pierce our hearts. This Cross, applied by the Holy Spirit, will transform our hearts into its own nature and make it pure. Christ in our hearts is the sweet purification  we need.
• Keep the heart peacable
  •  If the heart is troubled, the life will be troubled, the decisions will be unsure and inaccurate.
  • Like a martyr for Christ once challenged the judge to put his hand on his chest and his own just before the fire was lit to see which heart was the most peaceful, let us keep our hearts at peace no matter what the circumstances.
  • Seek peace by considering the following:
    • P -  Providential – does the door open
    • E – Enemy – What would the devil have you do?
    • A – Authority – What does the Bible say.
    • C – Confidence – as you decide, does your confidence increase or decrease?
    • E – Ease – In your heart, do you have peace
    • You need 5 from 5

1. 4.    Seek the right council

• Start with God for guidance and peace
• Seek council of those who have your interest at heart
• Do  it, and be confident in your decisions