Recently, while reading a great book about making decisions (Eve and the Choice Made in Eden, Beverly Campbell, Bookcraft 2003), I felt enlightened and experienced an increased understanding. Eve didn’t have to choose between good and bad. She didn’t have to choose between winning and losing. She was faced with the decision between good and good. Sometimes we are faced with similar kinds of decisions.
Eve could have chosen to remain in the Garden of Eden. To stay in paradise with her loving companion, her husband, Adam. To never have to worry about inclement weather or getting sick… about terrorist attacks or losing a loved one. No worries about suffering in any of its unpleasant forms. That would be the good life. A life with happiness abounding. Joy at every sunrise. Peace at every sunset. Three square meals a day. Delicious food of every kind – eat as much as you want, whenever you want (and never gain weight) – her pantry practically restocked itself after every meal. All the comforts of a heavenly home.
After all, it was paradise. For a moment, just take in the glorious beauty of Eden. The bouquet sweetening every breath – every minute of every day. How in the world could it get any better than that? No pain, no stress, no contention, no disappointment. Not even a concern about weeding the Garden – no weeds!
And the icing on the cake? God made regularly visits to the Garden! Eve and her husband were in direct communication with the God of the universe, the Creator of everything that is. And He visited them frequently. There was too much at stake for Him to not.
God was their friend, their confident, their mentor and encourager. And as their Father He was intimately involved in the details of their life – concerned for their happiness, caring for their every need, attending to their every question. He made sure everything was just perfect (sound’s just like Him, doesn’t it?). Yes, He did all of that, and more, everything they needed was taken care of.
So, for Eve’s choice between ‘A’ and ‘B’, staying in this place of beauty and safety was choice ‘A’. And choice ‘A’ was certainly a good option, a sound choice. I don’t know of anyone that wouldn’t choose this option, or at least be tempted by it. Without even knowing what was behind Door Number Two, most of us would logically conclude, “It can’t get any better than this! I’m going with ‘A’! “ No more hand wringing. ‘A’ all the way.
But for Eve, there was more to consider. Another option to weigh. And in her wisdom, she didn’t stop at Door Number One, content in making a good choice. She had more to consider. Much more hung in the balance. Much more. She wanted to be sure she was making the right decision. After all, this decision would impact not only her and her husband, not only her imminent family, but it would also impact billions and billions of God’s children, the future inhabitants of planet Earth. Her decision wouldn’t just influence her family in the short term, it would influence all of humanity – in fact, it would affect every single person ever to be born. No doubt, Eve’s motherly instinct kicked in.
Choice ‘B’, for Eve, was not immediately as attractive as choice ‘A’. With ‘B’, life would change dramatically. No more paradise. There would be stormy days every now and then. Food wouldn’t magically appear – instead it would become a product of their effort – the pantry would empty every other week or so. Unemployment, sickness and suffering would become common. Sadness, disappointment, misery and discouragement would be pedestrian. Unrest, conflict, contention. Choice ‘B’ really doesn’t appear too attractive. Not at the first impression. And probably not for the second or third either.
After experiencing all of the wonderful aspects of option ‘A’, anyone with half a brain would be asking, “So, where’s the upside of ‘B’?” And that is exactly where Eve shines like the Polar Star. She didn’t give in and despair when hearing about all of the despair associated with choice ‘B’. She persisted and dug deeper. And she found the deeply buried gem that most of us would have never seen. Most of us would not persevered. After all, choice ‘A’ was looking pretty darn good!
The choice presented to Eve’s was between two good things, or rather a choice between better and best. And blessed Eve, she chose what was best! She made the decision that would do the most good for the most people. And that’s how we know her decision was not only the better decision, but the best decision. And the right decision.
By choosing option ‘B’, she opened the door to allow billions of Heavenly Father’s children to progress. Her decision allowed every person that would ever live to grow and become more like our Heavenly Parents. To experience physical bodies and the tests of a physical world. To make choices, make mistakes, and to learn and be tested in ways that would have never happened otherwise. John A. Widtsoe said it this way:
“In life all must choose at times. Sometimes, two possibilities are good; neither is evil. Usually, however one is of greater import than the other. When in doubt, each must choose that which concerns the good of others – the greater law – rather than that which chiefly benefits ourselves – the lesser law. The greater must be chosen whether it be law or thing. That was the choice made in Eden.”
Looking back at beautiful Eden, the couple may have felt a tinge of remorse. It wouldn’t have lasted very long. Adam and Eve still had each other and in that there was great refuge. But looking forward to a family with unlimited potential – at the prospect for all the generations of God’s children to achieve what was formerly unachievable – now that had to bring immense satisfaction. Trading the bliss of the Garden for an empty pantry every now and then, having to pull some dandelions in the tomato patch, and the potential exaltation of all of humanity – there is absolutely no comparison. In hindsight it wasn’t even close. Eve made the decision that would impact the most people for the good. We can learn something from Eve as decisions confront us – especially decisions between two or more good things.
About ten years ago I was asked to give a presentation on decision-making to all of the executives on the sales team and some of the management team for a division of a large, established Fortune 500 company. I was quite puzzled why these executives, most with more seniority and experience than I, wanted me to give this presentation, and why they even needed it in the first place. I’m sure that every person in the room earned a comfortable six-figure income – they had achieved impressive levels of success because they were already good decision makers.
I learned a lot in preparing for this presentation, but the surprising thing was how many of these people either approached me afterward or made contact later to tell me how much they’d learned. One lesson I walked away with is that no matter how much experience or tenure you have, there’s always something valuable in hearing other perspectives.
As part of my presentation, I relayed a story about a NFL Referee named Jerry Seeman. He eventually became the Senior Director of Officiating for the NFL, based out of New York. This is what he had to say about making decisions:
As a referee, I found that the pressure was the same whether I was officiating a NFL pre-season game or the Super Bowl. Being on the field is like being in a fishbowl: everyone - players, coaches, the fans and the media - is waiting for your decision. A successful call depends on three things:
1. You must be in position
2. You must have a deep knowledge of the game
3. You must have intense concentration
Remember, no matter what the reaction to your decision may be, you answer to only one thing: your conscience. Above all, when making a decision, you have to keep your cool.
One of the biggest errors that I see officials fall into is making calls too quickly. Each decision has two phases: 1- You read and analyze the play, and 2- Then you make the call. But when things happen in a split second, it can be tempting to throw a penalty flag before you know what happened. That's why I tell all of my officials to work in 'cruise control'. The fans may go crazy, the players and coaches may get excited, but there should be seven people on the field who work every game the same way from beginning to end – and who exude a quiet confidence.
Once you make a decision, you'd better be able to communicate it. I remember having to make a call on a bizarre play in a playoff game between Houston and Cleveland. After an attempted onside kick, the kicking team illegally touched the ball, which then went out of bounds. The rules dictate that the kicking team should kick again. That team again tried an onside kick, and again illegally touched the ball - but this time, they recovered the ball. I called that the receiving team would gain control of the ball on the spot where it was illegally touched. This was a complicated play – the NFL probably hasn't seen another of its kind in the past 15 years. At first, the fans didn't understand my decision. But I explained to them what the proper ruling was, and they accepted it. I was confident about my knowledge of the game. And I didn't lose my cool.
After this introduction, I then outlined some critical components of making good decisions. No one makes good decisions 100% of the time, but there is some methodology and strategy that when employed improve the chances of making good decisions. Practicing this methodology, especially for the most significant decisions is critical and ultimately can impact our success, our long-term happiness and our ability to correctly make future decisions.
The following list of activities can be used to increase the odds of making important decisions correctly. Since the original business presentation, it has been expanded with some spiritual considerations. There are probably more, but these have served me well when facing significant choices.
Wm. Calvin Hughes
January 1, 2009
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