Too Many Choices!

Earlier this week when I was in the supermarket, I needed to buy toothpaste. So of course, I located the aisle with dental supplies and found the shelves with toothpaste…and, did I ever find toothpaste!  There were so many options to choose from I was literally standing there for five minutes trying to figure out which toothpaste I should buy. I could choose from “cavity-fighting,” “tarter-removing,” “whitening,” “breath-freshening”, etc., etc.  There was even one that was simply marked, “regular toothpaste.”  I had no idea what that meant. And, all of that was for just one brand!  

Of course, that’s the way it is throughout our supermarkets here in America. Whether you’re buying toothpaste, cereal, or yogurt the options seem endless, forcing us into making all kinds of choices. At times it can seem like we have too many choices—so many choices that just going grocery shopping causes decision-fatigue. 

We all know that life in general is filled with choices, causing us to have to make one decision after another. Some of those decisions are relatively small—e.g., what I will eat for breakfast or what I will wear today. Others are much larger—e.g., choosing a life-partner, a career, where to live and where to work. And there is one decision that is the largest of all: Will we or will we not live our lives by faith and in relationship with God? In this case, there’s only two choices. 

Moses called the people to make a decision when he said, “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you, life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30: 19-20 – NIV)  Later on, Joshua called the people to make the very same decision when he said, “…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” (Joshua 24:15 – NIV)  

Time and again, the people of God were called to make a choice; would they serve, worship, and follow the God who had saved them or would they turn back to worship the gods of this world? Would they choose life by serving God or would they choose death by turning from him? Who or what would be their God? 

The same choice is put before us. It’s a decision with which we are faced time and again: Will we or will we not serve the Lord?  Will we choose the life that God promises to those who follow after him or the death that comes to those who reject him? How will you live as you go about your daily business?  How will you live as you face the challenges, temptations, and trials that come your way? Will you or will you not trust, obey, and serve God? 

We may have a lot of options to choose from when it comes to our grocery shopping. But when it comes to our faith and relationship with God there are only two options, one that leads to life and one that leads to death. I trust that today you will choose life! 

Have a great day! 

- Pastor Tim Harris