What decisions in your life influenced you most?
If you ask an average person this question they will probably start talking about applying to college, getting a job, getting married, or buying a house. A Christian would probably mention the day he met Christ. Every person has made some critical decisions that significantly changed their life.
But if you think about it, we make thousands of little decisions that guide our steps every day. They might seem insignificant (like choosing what to eat for breakfast or if you should call mom today), but in fact, they are important parts of our lifestyles. Just think about it, if I make a decision to go to the gym every day, will I not see a difference in a few months?
While some situations obviously pose a question to us (like, when you shop you need to choose what you buy, or in the morning you choose what to wear), most decisions we make we don't even think about. We don't question if we should brush our teeth in the evening - this decision is made automatically; or sometimes we decide to flare up because something annoys us so quickly, that we don't have time to think about it. But later, as some time passes, we might notice that our decisions led us to problems with our health or our relationship.
Israelites' Choice
Many years ago when God led the people of Israel out of Egypt and when they arrived to the Jordan river - the "gate" to the promised land - He gave them the law. And then explained in detail the consequences of their obeying and disobeying God's commands. You can read about it all in the book of Deuteronomy. I don't even mention the chapter because there were a lot of different laws and commands!
And then God told them:
"I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him" (Deut. 30:19-20).
It seems like the choice is obvious: anyone would choose a life full of blessings. But the difficult part is that it's not enough to make this decision once. The Israelites had to make this choice every single day - will they follow God's law or will they disobey His commands? At home, at work, in their relationship with family and neighbors, throughout the week, and on the Sabbath, they had to make many little decisions that eventually would lead them to a blessing or a curse.
Your Choice
Doesn't this sound familiar to you? Some time ago during a church prayer (or maybe at home) you suddenly realized that you were walking the path of death, while God is offering you life. On that day you abandoned your old ways, determined to walk the path of blessing.
But literally the next day you realized that the decision-making is not over! Now every day posed a choice: to live the life you are used to or to obey Jesus' teachings. Every word and every action now was a result of similar decisions.
You may already know that this path with not change until you arrive in heaven. Every day you and I choose life or death, blessing or curse. While this might seem an obvious truth to you, think about how much more conscious your decisions become when you take responsibility for them!
My Choice
Yesterday I was upset with my husband. He wasn't even at fault and didn't even know about my feelings, but I turned away from him, crossing my arms. A minute later I realized that this is solely my choice. I can let resentment destroy my heart or I can put some effort into it, defeat my pride, and work on my marriage and our relationship. We resolved the unexistent conflict in a few minutes because I decided to choose life.
And this happens every day: I had to choose between helping my brother-in-law or taking some rest after a busy day. Choose between quality time with family or satisfying my desires. Choose my reaction to something that I don't like. Choose what to tell my colleague or how to ask my husband to help me in the kitchen. Choose thankfulness or pride. Choose love or selfishness.
The more I think about it, the more I want my decisions to please God. The more I want to choose life in every action and word. Choose a blessing for my relationship by being a blessing to people. Choose obedience, honesty, kindness, and wisdom. Choose Jesus.
What would you choose?
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