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 Devotional:
June - July 2007
Choices
— they are the essence of our everyday lives. We make
some good decisions and some bad. Some are very
impacting decisions and some not so much.
A few minutes ago I
was in the checkout line market and chose to get a candy
bar. Did I need a candy bar? No. Was I hungry? A
little, but not starving. Was that a good decision?
Absolutely not, especially considering that I’ve been
trying to cut back on those types of food. Will the
candy bar kill me? Probably not, but if I continuously
make the wrong decision, even when it comes to something
as simple as food, it could in the long run affect my
health. Now I could blame that decision on the fact
that they had the candy displayed so conveniently in the
checkout line. I could say that I deserve to have some
chocolate, because I’ve had a long day, thus blaming it
on my circumstances. But truthfully, I ate the candy
bar because I chose to, even though I could have walked
on and decided not to.
That’s how life is.
Each and every day we have choices to make and they will
affect the outcome of our day as well as the people
around us. Some decisions even affect a lifetime.
Joshua made a
decision for his family in Joshua 24:15 when he said
“…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” He
made a positive decision that affected his family for
the good. Paul decided in Philippians 3:13-14 to forget
his past and press through his circumstances because he
had a calling on his life that was greater than life
itself. That had to be difficult for someone with a
past like Paul. He murdered Christians before he got
saved. He probably came in contact all the time with
people that were related to people he had killed! What
a reminder! But he knew that living in the guilt of the
past would only crucify his future so he made a right
decision to move on.
Adam and Eve chose to
do the one thing that was forbidden to them and because
of that choice, all of mankind fell (Genesis 2:17;
Genesis 3). David made a choice to forgo his duty and
not go to war with his troops. Seems like a small
thing. But because he was in the wrong place at the
wrong time, he ended up lusting after a woman, sleeping
with her, and then killing her husband so he could marry
the woman and cover up his own sin! Who’d have thought
that choice could have led to all of that?
Tomorrow morning, you
don’t have to get up in time to go to work. In fact,
you don’t even have to go to work. You don’t have to
bathe, eat, pay your bills, go to church or wear
clothes. You can be ticked-off at your husband or wife,
ignore your children, and charge a whole new wardrobe
that you can’t afford on your credit cards. But all
those decisions have consequences. If you don’t go to
work, you eventually won’t have a job. If you don’t pay
your bills, you won’t have a home or a car. If you are
disrespectful to your spouse, you’ll have a terrible
marriage. And those are all choices you have to make.
So tomorrow when you
are faced with a decision, pause for just a moment and
consider the options. Make the decision that has the
best outcome. It may seem like a small thing at the
time, but its effects could be far-reaching. It may be
hard to make the right decision right now. It might be
a lot easier to blame someone else for your behavior.
But don’t forget that your future is at stake. So make
the right choice.
Having said all of
that, it still would be much easier if they wouldn’t
have candy in the checkout aisles.
Don’t forget—the best
is yet to come!
--Sonya
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