What’s the difference between a Conviction and a Decision?

Judges 14:12-20 Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propound a riddle to you; if you will indeed tell it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes. “But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Propound your riddle, that we may hear it.” So he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet.” But they could not tell the riddle in three days. Then it came about on the fourth day that they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, so that he will tell us the riddle, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not so?” Samson’s wife wept before him and said, “You only hate me, and you do not love me; you have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told it to my father or mother; so should I tell you?” However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people. So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have found out my riddle.” Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house. But Samson’s wife was given to his companion who had been his friend.

The story of Samson is an interesting one to follow. Samson has a lot of flaws, yet God continues to use him. This should encourage us, because all of us are flawed beings. The story we have here exposes some of the character problems Samson has, but we need to remember that God still intended to use him to deliver Israel from the bondage of the Philistines. We must keep that before us, or else we will believe that Samson was just a mean vindictive person. The Philistines had enslaved Israel, treating them with contempt, abusing their women and using their men. God used Samson to destroy the Philistines grip on Israel.

Samson had killed a lion with his bare hands and bees had used the carcass as a hive, where later Samson discovered the honey and enjoyed it. Samson now decides to take advantage of the Philistine companions that were supplied to him for his marriage. He makes a riddle from his experience with the lion and the honey. His companions go to his wife, who is a Philistine also, and after pressuring her, she through an emotional appeal gets Samson to compromise and tell her the answer. When confronted by his companions with the answer, knowing it was his wife that betrayed him, he kills 30 other Philistines and takes their possessions to give to those that had manipulated an answer to his riddle, he then returns home without his wife which is then given to his so called friend.  

What a story, but it does bring a Truth to the surface that we would do well to learn from.

Question: Why did Samson cave in on the secret of his riddle? Notice:

However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard.

The Truth we see here will challenge us on the foundations of our decisions. When we make a decision we have a choice, either we make our decision based on conviction or on emotion. A conviction is a resolve based on what God desires, so circumstances, fads and emotions do not matter. If decisions are not made from convictions than they are reachable through the emotional channel. So many things influence our emotions. So if we leave that channel open, like Samson, we will cave in to whatever the pressure is.  

How to know if your decisions are from convictions

a. Must know the Word on this matter.

This is why we need to study scripture continually. When we have a decision to make, we need to know what the Scripture states so we can make a resolve to stand on that decision.

Joshua 1:8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Mark 7:7-9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

b. Must know your own heart

To see a conviction produced, not only do we need to know the Scripture, but we must reflect on our own heart. Being completely honest with ourselves so we can expose our weaknesses and fortify those areas with Scripture.

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-- unless, of course, you fail the test?

1 Corinthians 11:28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.

Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.

Here is the question you need to ask yourself. What is most important to me, to obey God or have my desires? If obedience is the answer you will see a conviction produced in your heart that will enable you to stand firm on the decision you made.

* What happens if there is no clear command concerning the issue? The key now becomes your conscience between you and the Lord.

Romans 14:1–6  Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval. In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God.

Romans 14:22–23 You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

Seeing a conviction produced over a liberty issue is only hard if you have not settled it in your heart. If you doubt, don’t move yet. Doubt exposes that you do not know your heart yet on that matter. We all live and learn. Mistakes will happen, but if we do not let pride take over, we just change direction & learn. The Christian life is a process, not a pill you take.

Remember, a decision should not be open for discussion, the conviction should be. If God shows you through His Word that your conviction should change, then you will realign the decision. Making the standard that your foundation for decisions is conviction, then the conviction alone controls what the decision is.

* Difference is this - Your decisions are not from what you do but they flow from who you are. To make a decision to go against God goes against my very fiber - Not just doing something wrong but denying who I am

"Men must be decided on what they will NOT do, and then they are able to act with vigor in what they ought to do"

What about you – are you a person of conviction or emotional decisions?

It’s the whole package that counts…not just the wrapping!

Probing Proverbs 11:22 A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

When I was young I use to love working with my mom as she made cookies. I would always be there when she would get out the vanilla extract bottle and pour it into the mixture of chocolate chip cookies. The smell of the vanilla would fill the room and I would always ask if I could have some straight from the bottle. My mom would say no because it really tasted bad. Well, I did not believe her based on what I smelled! One day she was making cookies and left the kitchen for a moment, that's when I grabbed the bottle of vanilla and took a quick drink. Blahh! My eyes got big, my palate screamed at me ”NOOOO!” It was terrible! Yes…I deserved it, but more importantly, I learned a great lesson. What something appears to be does not guarantee what it is!

This is the warning of this Proverb. We should never be so enamored with what something appears to be that we check our brains at the door! We need to take the time to think and discover what is really underneath the surface of something.

When it comes to “things” we need to say no to impulse, no matter how good the deal looks, how the item tickles our eyes or the emotional pull it gives us. How many individuals have signed deals that looked “to good to be true” only to find out later that was true. The deal appeared great, but in the details they discovered poison! The car “looked” so cool, but later we find because of how bad it runs, we are back on public transport! The pictures of the vacation or the home make us feel "This is what I always wanted", but the reality makes us feel like we have been sentenced to jail time!

This principle is even more important when dealing with the topic this Proverb is speaking to. Looking for a relationship with the opposite sex must go much deeper then the skin. To marry someone that is (maganda) beautiful or (pogi) handsome, only to find they have the personality of a rock, or the intellect of an ameba, or the temper of a volcano will guarantee a miserable marriage.

God makes it clear that the inside is vastly more important than the outside:

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Matthew 23:25–28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness

When I teach on marriage I make the point that in reality there is a “purgatory.” It’s not after death though; it’s a bad marriage! Think about it, the teaching about purgatory is that you go to a place where you suffer for a while and then get to go to heaven. That is what happens when a believer is in a bad marriage. They suffer during that marriage and then when they die, they go to heaven! No one should or needs to go through this. Yes, love involves the eyes and the heart…but needs to be tempered with the mind! We need to examine the whole person, and make sure we are compatible spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, and physically. There are billions of people in this world, so we should never “settle.” We should never marry someone we really do not like looking at, that is absurd! However, where that item is on your priority list does matter. 

The more beautiful a person is on the inside, the more attractive the outside becomes. This principle works in the other direction also, no matter how stunning the looks of someone is, as you get to know them, if they are ugly inside, they lose much of their appeal outwardly.

Meditation: Are you trying to put a gold ring on a pig’s snout? Are you pursuing a job, an item, or a lifestyle that looks good only on the surface and you have not considered what the reality is? Are you involved in a relationship where the appearance of the individual is overwhelming, but you have so many items you would like to change about their inside? Slow down! Take time to seek God’s thoughts and mix them with your thoughts. See what the whole package is!