We will be holding Good Friday and Easter Sunday services! Find out more here

Commitment in the Age of Choice

It is generally assumed that the ability to exercise choice is a benefit, and that the more choices we have, the better. But is that really the case? Tan Yee Kiat asks what role commitment plays when we are faced with a multiplicity of choices.

In 2004, Barry Schwartz released a book entitled The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. Schwartz argues that contrary to what we might expect, having the freedom to choose is not necessarily a good thing and has in fact made us more miserable.

Paul Hiebert briefly summarises how Schwartz sees the ubiquity of choice in the modern era:

While Schwartz doesn’t claim he discovered the setbacks of excessive choice, The Paradox of Choice is perhaps our best articulation of the overall problem. In the book, for example, he explores the stress people feel when confronted with ample opportunity, and the regret that follows from choosing poorly (whose fault is it other than mine?). He also discusses our loss of presence (why am I doing this when I could be doing that?), our raised expectations (with so many options, why settle for less?), and our tarnished sense of self that comes from comparing our choices with the choices of others (why do I continue to pick the wrong things when Alex always picks the right ones?). In sum, Schwartz’s work poses a serious challenge to the notion that more choice brings about more freedom, and more freedom brings about more happiness. As the book’s subtitle implies, sometimes a lot is simply too much.

[Read Paul Hiebert's full article here]

It is indeed nothing new. An economist might perhaps point out that this is simply the age-old problem of calculating our opportunity cost, the computation of which has nevertheless become more difficult due to the abundance of information available.

The ‘paradox of choice’ can be overcome if we look past the illusion that we have many options and instead choose the one thing we know to be true, the one thing that we know will lead us to where we ought to be, and the one thing that we are called to be – Christians grateful for the grace of God in transferring us out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col 1:12-13).

Paul’s words to a young Timothy contain timeless truths for us all. After detailing the snare of riches, he writes: “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Tim 6:11-12)

Are you suffering from the ‘paradox of choice’? Does the wide range of choices you have make it difficult for you to commit and cause you unhappiness – which job to choose, the location of your house, which school for your children, even who to marry? Let's look beyond these and take hold of the eternal life to which we have been called. Jim Elliot’s famous words are worth our while remembering: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”