Yesterday I spent a lot of time talking about making good choices. It’s a lesson we all deal with on a daily basis.
We can’t force people to make good choices. It has to be a decision of the heart.
Our day is filled with choices. Do we rise early or over sleep? Do we eat a good breakfast or skip it entirely? Do we speed down the highway or stay within the limits of the law? Are we intolerant and lose our temper or patient and self-controlled? All are choices we make and we can blame no one for the consequences – we are responsible.
Moses had led over a million people through the desert for forty years and at the end of his life he gave them this instruction:
“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy…19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” Deuteronomy 30:15-19 NLT
I know it seems elementary, almost remedial, but making right choices is a real sign of maturity. Life – death, blessing – curses, (here’a clue, right answer, choose life) Choosing to forgive, letting kindness be our guide, saying no to indulgences that bring pleasure for a moment but devastating consequences for weeks and years to come takes maturity.
One of the greatest gifts the Lord has given us is free will, the ability to make our own choices. We aren’t puppets or robots, we have the ability to think wisely and make proper decisions.
Have you ever been outside on a very dark night, in unfamiliar territory? We experience that alot when we go camping. The right choice in situations like that is to grab a flashlight. It has kept me from tripping over logs or getting off the path and stepping into a hole on numerous occasions. I could just stumble along, that would be my choice, however it wouldn’t be a good one.
When we need guidance and wisdom, which we all do, we have this promise from the Lord.
“Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps, a light that shows the path I should take.
106 Your laws are good and fair. I have promised to obey them, and I will keep my promise.” Psalm 119:105-106 ERV
Before you make a choice today, consider the consequences and then ask God for wisdom. He’ll be glad to give it.
“If you do not have wisdom, ask God for it. He is always ready to give it to you and will never say you are wrong for asking.” James 1:5 NLV