What career should I pursue? Where should I live? What should I do with my time? At some point in our lives, these are big decisions all of us will have to address – and then live with the consequences. But how should we go about tackling them? How can we have the confidence to move forwards without regret?
Last term, Sascha Becker, Professor of Economics at Warwick, and Xioakai Yang Chair of Business and Economics at Monash, walked us through Biblical principles for decision making, illustrated by several big decisions he and his family have had to make over the course of his career.
Biblical principles
In the first half of his talk, Sascha brought out several principles from the Bible which speak into the issue of decision making. The Bible’s wisdom literature being key sources (Psalms and Proverbs), Sascha pointed out the importance of relationships – particularly good, deep friendships (Prov. 13:20, 18:24, 22:24-25), and also the importance of discerning one’s calling. The latter he helpfully and succinctly defined as where a God-given gift meets open doors. Indeed, it is a key Christian belief that every person is made in the image of God – and in particular this means that each person has the ability and duty to honour God and bring glory to him in a unique way. On the subject of where to be located, Sascha shared in his own experience the importance of being embedded in a community of Christian believers, on top of being in a location where work and family life were able to flourish. For Christians, ultimately our faith provides the bedrock for all facets of our life – work, family, everything – not just on Sundays! And far from being abstract or philosophical, these principles he shared are very much anchored in our day-to-day experience – the time required to nurture relationships over extended periods, and the need to hold on to our human plans lightly (James 4:13-15).
Personal experiences
The second half of his talk, Sascha shared with us several experiences from his own story of how, with God’s guidance, he and his family were able to make big decisions. A particularly memorable example concerned his recent return to Warwick. Previously, from 2010-2019, Sascha had been a member of the Economics department at Warwick, going from Associate Professor to full Professor during that time. In 2019 he then moved to Monash University in Australia, without any particular intention to return to Warwick (despite invitations). During this period, Sascha had a further opportunity to join a prestigious Ivy League university in America as a Professor, which from an outside perspective would have been an extremely easy offer to accept. However, for his family, this would have meant yet another substantial upheaval. Sascha had described how in previous instances of big decisions, although there was often much back-and-forth before reaching a decision, things always lined up one way or another, allowing them to move on with confidence and peace in the final decision. However, with this present opportunity, they prayed as before, but there was – nothing. This was a powerful reminder, that however much it seems God has guided us and spoken to us in the past, there will be times when he deigns not to speak. Without a clear sense of God’s leading, Sascha in the end declined the offer. Skipping ahead, having thought and prayed so hard over this particular decision, Sascha and his family had also been pondering the broader question of where precisely God wanted them to be in general. Amazingly, some time afterwards, God did then speak – to both Sascha and his wife regarding Coventry and Europe! This would ultimately lead to their return to Coventry and Warwick, and indeed his very involvement with CPS and his talk.
Concluding thoughts
Personally, I found Sascha’s talk to be a wonderful and moving testimony to God’s enduring faithfulness, and how a humble kernel of faith can truly lead to mountains being moved. Big decisions are never easy to make in the moment, but leaning on God’s wisdom rather than our own can give us confidence and peace. As Sascha reminded us at the outset of his talk: Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)
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