Choice is Fundamental

Last week I was watching a YouTube interview of a man who’s well know in some circles.

The interviewer asked him, if he was a Christian. The reply was an affirmative “Yes.”

Then the interviewer asked about his daughter who had married a woman. The implication was, “How do you as a Christian deal with your daughter marrying a woman?”

I loved his response. He replied, “Love is a choice. I choose to love her. But I don’t always love her choices. You can love someone you disagree with.”

Choice. It’s fundamental to our faith. To Christianity. To life.

This year we’re writing about “Fundamentals of Faith.” This is the 27th installment. Many of those past posts have dealt with doctrinal matters. And others have addressed specific spiritual qualities. But the issue of choice is a personal matter. A private matter. An individual issue. And one that impacts all other fundamentals.

Joshua, the successor to Moses, at the end of his life challenged Israel with these stirring words:

“Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh 24:15)

We can choose to love or not. Choose to believe or not. Choose to repent or not. Choose to learn or not. Choose to grow or not. Choose to obey God or not. And choose to serve God or not.

Leadership guru John Maxwell was right when he wrote, “Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.”

Choices lead to actions. Repeated actions produce habits. Habits form character. And our character is who we really are. From these choices we reap an ultimate destiny. William Jennings Bryant expressed it this way, “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.”

Our choice of Masters is huge. Will we follow Jesus? Or will we serve the Devil? Now, most of us do not consciously say, “I choose to serve the Devil.” But we may do so by making some wrong choices.

When we choose the company of evil companions, our morals can become corrupted. The wise man warned, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Prov 12:26).

When we choose to read salacious literature, watch filthy movies and listen to raunchy music, our minds can become degraded. When we choose to replace Bible reading with recreation and prayer with pleasure our souls can become spiritually malnourished. And whether we realize it or not we end up serving the devil.

H. E. Fosdick was right when he wrote, “He who chooses the beginning of a road chooses the place it leads to. It is the means that determine the end.” Or as Richard Bach put it, “ You choose, you live with the consequences.

Lifestyle is a choice. We choose our morals, ethics, and values. We choose righteousness or unrighteousness. Godliness or ungodliness. Good or evil. Right or wrong.

Seemingly smaller choices that may not corrupt us can limit our ability to effectively serve the Lord. Charging a few dollars here and there on our Visa card can soon add up and then we become a slave to debt. Because of some poor choices each day, a few years later our opportunities to do more and have more are compromised.

The words of Eleanor Roosevelt ring true: “One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.”

We can’t undo our choices. We can only make new ones. Let’s resolve to make decisions that will glorify God, ensure good health, produce happiness on earth, and give us an eternal hope.

“No matter what the situation, remind yourself, I have a choice,” advised Deepak Chopra.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman