“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 30:19 NLT)
Researchers at Cornell University estimate we make 226.7 decisions a day related to food alone. Based on those kinds of statistics it stands to reason that we clutter our brain with nonessential choices. Could it be we’re so engrossed in things that don’t matter, we have very little time or even interest in making choices about things that do matter, things that have eternal significance?
While billions of people likely give this no thought in the course of any given day, there will come a point in each of our lives when it will literally be too late to make a choice between heaven and hell. If asked, many people default back to something like: “I’ve lived a good life. I haven’t hurt anyone. I pay my taxes. What else can I do?”
Many ponder whether there is a heaven, given all the hell they see on earth, while others write off the idea of God altogether because of man’s inhumanity to man. Yet, the very fact we recognize evil is a strong argument for the existence of God. Where do the ideas of right and wrong originate? How can someone define what’s wrong without the existence of an eternal good? But, for our purposes today, let’s look at a more practical application of this issue of right and wrong.
Have you ever had a disagreement with someone that became “heated?” Rick Warren wrote in a recent Daily Hope devotional: “When you meet someone to resolve a conflict, you first have to confess your part of the problem. Then you need to listen for the other person’s hurt and perspective. In every conflict—from our personal relationships to politics—we think we argue over ideas. But we actually argue over emotion.
Anytime there’s a conflict, someone’s feelings were hurt; somebody felt abused or slighted. It’s not the idea that causes the conflict. It’s the emotion behind the idea. Hurt people hurt people. The more someone is experiencing hurt, the more likely they are to lash out at everyone else.
People who aren’t experiencing hurt don’t hurt others. People who are filled with love are loving toward others. People who are filled with joy are joyful toward others. People who are filled with peace are at peace with everybody else. But people who are filled with hurt are going to hurt others. They’re going to lash out.”
What are you and I filled with? If we’re walking with Jesus, we profess that we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, and we are, but how often, during an argument do we get our “feelings hurt,” then swiftly kick the Holy Spirit aside and with our attitude take control of our “discussion.” We make the choice to defend ourselves and in the process damage close relationships that can lead to lifelong regret.
How many divorces are the result of unresolved conflict with our spouse? We argue over the same things day after day until there comes a point we decide: “This is stupid! I give up! I’m not doing this anymore!” Marriages are ended, men, women, boys’ and girls’ lives are forever affected by a bad choice that could have easily been avoided if we’d just looked in the right place for the answer.
So, what is the right choice? “To seek the Lord!” is the “right” answer, but how we do that and to whom we turn for help is the critical piece of that answer.
Let’s look at this more closely in tomorrow’s post.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 