Making Godly Decisions for a Godly Life--by Linden Malki

Life is full of choices—sometimes we don't notice them and just follow the path of least

resistance, and sometimes we agonize over things that aren't worth much. We live in a time and place where we have more options that many people in many times and places have had.
Thinking about Biblical guidelines for decisions we face, small, middle-sized and large, I found some principles that will keep us out of trouble. We think of the big things that can go bad and mess up our lives, but some of what look like small things can turn out to bite more painfully than we expect. These are based on an important Scripture, can you recognize it?
Is there anything that would be put above God? We may not realize that one of the most dangerous things that we can think is that we ourselves don't need God because we are sitting on that throne. History is full of people who thought they were God, or at least a small-g god; and caused a great deal of suffering and then died. The problem here is that we are all mortal, and we're not that smart. Or it might be an ambition, or a job, or a something we love to the point of taking over too much of our life.
Is there any way God would be misrepresented? Do we throw around God's name to support our own opinions, or think we can manipulate Him? Do we realize that any image we try to make of Him falls short of the reality?
How does this affect the your use of your time? Do we do our own thing 24/7 and don't take the time to connect with Him?
Have you asked (and listened to) the advice of your family and other appropriate advisors? Do we recognize good advice from bad, ungodly from Godly?
Would anyone be hurt in any significant way? Do we disrespect others, take out our shortcomings and problems on other people, and leave a trail of broken people and relationships? Are we careless of other people's stuff, time, lives?
Is it real, honest, trustworthy, and of good quality? Can others depend on our word and our work? The “Golden Rule” probably fits in here, with the realization that not everyone wants what we do, and that we don't appreciate people ignoring that.
Have you searched your heart and mind for greed, envy, selfishness? Remember that everything we have in this world was created by God, and everything tangible depends on someone's effort for us to have it. Even the fruit on the tree has to be picked by somebody, and a lottery win is money other people lost. I told my kids when they were small: If it's not yours, and you don't have permission, don't touch it! Yes, there is a place for giving things to people, but even a gift costs something somewhere upstream. And the most valuable gift of all—our saving relationship with God, came with the ultimate Cost. This enabled the gifts that enable us to live spiritually healthy lives: the gifts of forgiveness, wisdom, strength, and the Holy Spirit.