Things Mama Taught Me: When in Doubt, Don't

There is hardly a more succinct bit of advice from Ben Franklin than his "When in doubt, don't." I don't know if Mama got her wisdom from him or whether it was the natural gift of her motherhood.

"Is this shirt clean enough to wear?" a son or daughter might ask her.

"If you have to ask, it isn't."

"When in doubt, don't." This may be helpful when we are making up our minds whether or not a certain article of clothing or a particular activity is appropriate, but it is actually not the perfect watchword for more important decision-making. There are many times when we have insufficient information to enable a confident decision. "Will I need more than $100 to make this trip?" Well, there's not any way to tell. I have no information about the possibility of having to be towed and replacing a water pump or fixing a windshield. I just make the best decision I can with the information I have.

Sometimes the information at hand is not accurate, as in "Will I need to clear the sidewalks in the morning?" Snow flurries were predicted, but I didn't get up early enough to shovel four inches of flurry off the walks.

And sometimes the information-gathering process is skewed by the emotion involved—mine or someone else's. "Call now . . . Write your Congressman today . . . This is the only opportunity . . ." Decisions based on emotion are at best shaky, and sometimes plainly mistaken.

But "when in doubt, don't," does serve to slow us down long enough to examine carefully the decisions that have significant effect on our lives.

sDoes the decision have short-term benefits which will cost me dearly in the long run? (Credit purchases immediately come to mind.) Choosing the right thing often has a costly immediate effect on me, but the benefits are greater long-term.

sDoes this decision affect others? Is that a positive thing for them, or will I be the one who only possibly reaps the benefits at a cost to those around me, especially those for whom I am responsible? (Making a major move comes to mind; gambling away the paycheck would be another.)

sDoes this decision require my overriding the reservations I may have? Does it require haste? (Car sales come immediately to mind.) "The chance of a lifetime" actually comes around every once in awhile.

God is good, and He has our best interests at heart. He is ready to give guidance and help when we sincerely seek to honor Him in our decision-making.

MaryMartha

Art from http://sxc.hu/