Andy Stanley contends there is one question that, if we ask it each time we make a decision, it will bring clarity to the important questions and problems and dilemmas in your life.

Asking and answering this question could have helped you avoid your biggest regret ever. “You and I have something in common,” Andy states. “We’ve both done some really dumb stuff.” We’ve not planned to mess things up but — this is a wise one — we’ve also not planned not to mess up.  Furthermore, we “are good at deceiving ourselves. Really good” (22).

So, what is the question?

It’s found in his book The Best Question Ever …

And this is a book every leader needs to read, and every parent, and every college student…

He dips into Ephesians 5:15-17:

Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

The question is this:

What is the wise thing for me to do?

He’s right. That’s the great question to ask.

The problem, as he explains, is that we too often ask the wrong questions. Our question tends to be “Is there anything wrong with it?” Which often leads to this one: “How close I get to the line between right and wrong without actually doing something wrong?” — sex for teenagers, eating, attorneys … used for examples. Then “How far over the line can I go before I experience consequences?” And then we ask this: “How did I get myself into this mess?”

The book explores this question about wisdom to three major areas of life, and it does so with wit and with wisdom — time, money, and relationships.