The Impact of One Decision

1 Kings 16:30

And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.

When reading the books of the Kings, a statement is often repeated that a king did evil in the sight of the LORD. We often consider Ahab as one of the worst kings in Israel’s history. Ahab not only did evil, but he did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him. God goes further into talking about Ahab and his evil by saying he did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

As much as we look at Ahab’s evil life, this pattern of wicked kings did not start with him. This pattern of wicked kings started in 1 Kings 3:1 which says, And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David…. The pattern of evil kings started with one decision by Solomon to make friends with the world. His decision to make friends with the world led him to marry the king of Egypt’s daughter. This marriage led to many other marriages with worldly women who turned his heart from God. Had Solomon been more careful with his decisions, Rehoboam would likely had done right, which would have kept Israel from being split into two nations. The good that could have been perpetuated to future kings could have happened had Solomon not made one bad decision to make friendship with the world.

You can make thousands of good decisions, but one bad decision will often undo the good of the good decisions. Solomon made many good decisions, but it was his one bad decision that influenced his life for wrong. Every decision you make will influence your life in some way. However, the bad decisions tend to turn a life of good into a life or heartache and bad. David made many good decisions, but the one bad decision to stay home is what led to his immoral relationship with Bathsheba. You can point to all the good decisions you made, but one bad decision is what tends to influence your life the most.

Moreover, the one bad decision is often not considered a “bad decision” by most. Solomon’s decision to be a friend with the king of Egypt didn't seem to be a “bad” decision, but it led to the many other bad decisions he made that turned his life to sin at the end of his life. David’s one bad decision to stay home from the battle would not be considered “bad” by most, but he made a decision to stop moving forward which led to the bad decision of adultery. You may not think your decision is that bad, but the fact that it is not a good decision means it will lead to many other bad decisions. The worst decisions you make in life will go back to one bad decision that didn't seem real bad.

My friend, the impact of one decision is tremendous. One decision will impact future generations. One decision also impacts many future decisions. It is critical that every decision you make is a good one. Those who have messed up their lives in sin can trace the decision that ruined their life back to one decision that did not seem too bad. If you want to keep your life from impacting generations for wrong, you must make sure every decision you make is a decision that agrees with God’s Word. Never fall for the trap that your decision is not a real bad decision because every decision impacts future decision for good or bad. If every decision is a good decision, you and future generations will never have to suffer the consequences of a bad decision.