Leviticus 19:15
“Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.”
One thing every athlete is taught is to keep their head in the game. Sports have a way of bringing out the worst in a person because it will test your emotions. Whether it is the pressure of a game, a bad call by a referee, or even the actions of others players, keeping your head in the game can make or break the outcome of the game. A player can seriously hurt their team’s chance of winning when they allow their emotions to get the best of them. The key is to keep their head in the game.
God is teaching this very principle in the verse above. While laying out several laws for His people to live by He says, “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment…” God knew that every time you make a decision, you have to take the heart out of the decision-making process and keep your head in the game. There are four principles that God is teaching concerning keeping your head in the game with your decision-making.
First, don’t let emotions influence your decisions. God says, “…thou shalt not respect the person of the poor…” You can often look at a person’s financial status and allow that to influence your decision. It’s amazing how a wealthy person can do the same thing a poor person does, and yet the poor person will get away with it because someone’s emotions justify their actions based on their poverty. You cannot allow emotions to get involved in your decisions. You may get away with making emotional decisions many times, but they eventually cause you to make harmful decisions.
Second, don’t let status influence your decisions. God continues to say, “…nor honour the person of the mighty…” You will become corrupt when status influences your decisions. Status has a way of influencing your decisions based on your agenda. Right and wrong do not change based on someone’s financial or spiritual status. If it is right or wrong for the lost person or for the poor to do something, it is right or wrong for the Christian or wealthy to do something. Let right and wrong dictate decisions not status.
Third, don’t allow personal gain to influence your decisions. Verse 35 says, “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.” How something benefits you can often influence your decision one way or another. There are going to be times when a decision will hurt you. The outcome of how a decision affects you should never influence your decisions. You have to take personal gain out of the decision-making process and allow right or wrong to make the decision, even if the decision will hurt you.
Fourth, the best way to make decisions is to base them on right or wrong. With every decision you make, you must consider what you will do the next time. Right and wrong never change. Proper decisions will be consistent throughout time. If you keep your head in the game with your decisions, you will find what is decided today will be the same decision you will make in years to come because it is based off right and wrong. Simply put, let your head make your decisions, not your heart.