麻豆社

鈥淚t is high time we made a decision.鈥� These were the words of prime minister Theresa May in her address to the nation last night.

Like many in the UK, she is hoping that parliament will make a final choice that will take us out of the Brexit paralysis in which we find ourselves. The choices before them: accept Theresa May鈥檚 deal, go for no deal, revoke article 50 or try to find a better alternative.

Life is made up of a series of choices: what to wear, where to live; which car to buy or radio station to listen to.

In Christian theology, the power of a human being to choose 鈥� their free will 鈥� is sacred. But at times I know I find a certain relief in not having to make decisions.

Some of the world鈥檚 most successful people 鈥� such as Barack Obama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, do what they can to limit the choices they have to make by choosing to wear just one or two outfits every day 鈥� a kind of uniform.

Psychologists have suggested that the quality of the choices we make are poorer after long sessions of decision making.

Though decisions can be difficult to take, the important thing is to take them; not to remain in a state of inertia but to press forward with a choice. Choose life, God urges in the book of Deuteronomy. Instead of a passive fatalism, we are advised to use our agency and make decisions.

But the choices we make should never be taken in isolation or without regard for those affected by our decisions. Decisions made with only our own interests in mind fail to achieve the common good for which we hopefully all strive. Sometimes the best decisions we can make are those that involve compromise.

A lack of compromise on all sides has led to strife and division 鈥� within EU member states, within our political parties and within our parliament. Echoing a New Testament passage, Abraham Lincoln in his address in 1858 said: 鈥淎 house divided against itself, cannot stand.鈥� Things are better for everyone when there is unity and common purpose.

In these turbulent times, which have been likened to the biggest crisis our nation has faced since the Second World War, perhaps some words from Philippians might help our politicians to find a way forward. To do nothing out of selfish ambition. But in humility to value others above ourselves, not looking to our own interests but each of us to the interests of others.

This period of Lent in which we find ourselves is a time of self-denial. Ash Wednesday reminds Christians of their belief that they are dust and that to dust they shall return. This is the time to set aside the self, to lose the ego and to think of others.

Whether we believe in God or not, I wonder what a difference this would make in the choices all of us face.

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