You Choose

It wasn’t this bad in the beginning. Isn’t that what most of us say of our tiny sin.

Our first decisions. Our first wonder. Our first choices. They are critical.

Our first decisions. Our first wonder.

Our first choices. They are critical.

Romans 6:16 NLT Don’t you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive His approval.

If only we’d known where those first bad decisions would have led us, maybe we’d have chosen differently.

In our culture, addiction has become the most common way to deal with pain. We watch television incessantly. We keep busy running from one activity to another, we overeat, we take pills, we get angry, we indulge in alcohol, and we grumble. Then, we do about anything to avoid the pain.

Sadly, as a result of denying and minimizing our sins over the years, we become less human, empty Christian shells with pretty painted smiley faces.

Is God our last resort?

Are we indifferent to sin?

Especially the ones around us – but not really affecting our day-to-day life.

Is the American way of busyness keeping us on edge, lacking compassion, or discontented?

We are to live our lives as the rest of the world – working, experiencing joy and sorrow, marrying, buying things, and using them – but always with an awareness that these things in themselves are not our lives.

We are marked by eternity, free from the dominating power of things. Yet, so quickly along our journey with Christ, we get attached to behaviors, habits, things, and people.

God’s purpose for us is to have a loving union with Him, joyfully detaching from certain behaviors and activities for the purpose of a more intimate, loving attachment to God.

We are to enjoy the world and all God’s gifts without being ensnared by them. It has rightly been said that those who are the most detached on the journey are best able to taste the purest joy in the beauty of created things.

1 Peter 2:11-12 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

(Parts of this taken from “Emotionally Healthy Spiritually” by Peter Scazzero)

Until next time, Pam.