Your past patterns are a great indicator of your future success (and failure). Wisdom remembers that.
2. Is my gut reaction consistent or inconsistent with scripture?
Just because you have a track record of success doesn’t mean you’re being faithful.
After all, there are successful criminals at work in your city who have a stellar track record of never being caught.
We’re all fallen, and that means sometimes our impulses lead us toward Christ and sometimes they lead us away from Christ.
As you develop a filter around your impulses, you’ll begin to see which natural reactions you have that are consistent with Scripture and which ones you should immediately dismiss.
For example, a friend told me years ago that I suffer fools lightly. What he meant was if I don’t like the way someone leads, I distance myself very quickly.
That can be a good thing (it helps me build a better team). But it’s also a bad thing because what it usually means in the short term is that I lack grace for that person. That’s actually sinful.
Everyone bears the image of God, and I need to treat them that way.
So I have had to learn to check my impulses in this area because I’m a Christian and I’ve learned to extend grace to people I may not fully respect.
In the same way, you need to check your gut instincts through the lens of scripture to see which lead you and others closer to Christ and which lead you further away.
3. What are the implications of my actions?
Because gut instincts are, well, gut instincts, the initial temptation is to just run with them.
But even taking a few moments to think about where the dominoes will land once you put the first one in motion is a wise thing to do.
If your gut reaction is reliable, thinking through the implications will show you how things will become better. Conversely, thinking through a gut reaction that isn’t helpful will avoid danger.
If you’re an impulsive person, thinking through the implications of your action is a necessity.
I’m an impulsive person and I’ve learned this the hard way.
Conversely, if you overthink issues, you will be prone to non-action, which has its own set of implications that you might miss.
Not acting is often as deadly as acting impulsively. And many churches are legendary for not acting.
So think through the consequences of your action or non-action. It can only help to do that.
