I can't control people… neither can you.
You know that… I know that… so the above sentence was just a reminder.
What I write next, well, it's another reminder, but it's an important reminder…
PEOPLE MAKE BAD CHOICES ALL THE TIME.
And for sake of clarity, you and I are part of the 'PEOPLE' mentioned above.
At some point since we gathered on Sunday, I'm guessing we could all look back and say, "Probably didn't make a great choice right there."
It may have been related to something you ate or something you watched.
Maybe it was when you decided to go to bed or get out of bed.
Or maybe it was how you treated someone – you were short or snarky in a response, or overly defensive or demeaning through your interaction with someone.
CHOICES… we ALL make countless numbers of choices day in and day out. Some are good and some are not so good. And as we all know, our choices don't only impact us… they impact those around us.
Every choice I make impacts Kyla.
Every choice I make impacts my kids.
Every choice I make impacts those I work with every day.
And every choice I make impacts you.
And maybe this doesn't need to be said, but just in case… I'll say it anyway. Me saying that my choices impact you is not me having an inflated view of myself… not at all. Rather, it's just to highlight what's TRUE for all of us…
OUR CHOICES IMPACT THOSE AROUND US.
In the same way that my choices impact you, well, your choices impact me just as much. And here's why I say that… if you're part of GENESIS, whether you've been around for a while or you've just started coming relatively recently (welcome by the way), we (me and you) are part of the Body of Christ and that is expressed through our local church called GENESIS.
If you've made it this far in this week's devotional – thanks for reading! But it's time I share with you WHY I'm emphasizing the CHOICES we make every day.
As I continue in this series of devotionals entitled 'QUESTIONS' – I was confronted with another phenomenal question as I was finishing Deuteronomy earlier this week.
In the closing chapters, Moses spills precious ink articulating God's Heart for His people, and yes, the people of God are confronted with a CHOICE, a choice that not only impacts them but those around them and those that will come after them.
See this with me in Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT)…
"Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!"
This seems like the obvious question, but I'll ask it anyway…
WHO WOULDN'T CHOOSE LIFE?
Answer… everyone… right?
One might think that yes, everyone would choose life, but as we all know, that's not always the case… and I'll speak for myself here, that's not always the choice I make.
When I choose selfishness…
When I choose unforgiveness…
When I choose my way over His way…
When I choose to speak up when I should have listened…
When I choose to pray later (and it doesn't happen)…
When I choose to be in the Word later (and it doesn't happen)…
When I choose disobedience over obedience to His plan…
The list can be much longer than this, but I think you get the point.
Anytime I CHOOSE something that is not consistent with God's Way, God's heart, God's plan, well, I'm choosing death. And yes, I know that sounds all sorts of dramatic, but throughout God's Word, it's clear – to choose disobedience is to choose death. But when we are choosing obedience, whether we deem it big or small, or something in between, well, that is a choice for LIFE.
So, here's where this gets practical. Before you go further today, name one choice — just one — that you know isn't lining up with God's way.
Maybe it's a conversation you need to have, an apology you've been putting off, or simply opening your Bible today instead of "later."
Whatever the CHOICE is, bring that one choice to God right now. Confess it, ask for His help, and then make the next choice — the one right in front of you — a CHOICE for LIFE.
The QUESTION I was confronted with is the question I'll leave you with…
ARE YOU CHOOSING LIFE… OR ARE YOU CHOOSING DEATH?
Thankfully, we have one another to help one another CHOOSE LIFE and as we do that, those choices bring about blessings for ALL of us and those that will come after us.
