The Choice is Ours

Many times in life one has to become ever cognizant of the fact that life is full of choices. Life has ups and downs along with neutral moments. Moreover, much of life is filled with precarious decisions that will determine essential things. Yes, many things in life will occur merely from osmosis, but not everything will be an automatic moment totally out of your control. Some things will have the availability for your choice to intervene within the conclusion.

The Bible states, 'I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live' from Deuteronomy 30:19 (Amplified Version). A key point God was getting across was that, in life, we DO have a CHOICE. Therefore, we have to share much of the responsibility for our actions. Unfortunately, we can't justifiably live out a life of excuses and expect God to always accept them.

Now, I'm not suggesting that we never face issues or problems that are out of our control. But, God still wants us owning up to what's actually in our control. We may not be responsible for the 90% but we are responsible for the 10%. We may not have initiated the fight but we are responsible for retaliating once the fight has started. We may not have even put ourselves into a particular dreadful situation, but we are responsible for how we're going to get out of the situation. One thing about Adam & Eve is not so much they'd sinned, but convincingly decided to blame the sin away. They blamed each other, the serpent, and even had the audacity to blame God.

Interesting enough, we tend to respond much like Adam and Eve---even while in the 21st century. Rarely do we hear words like, "I admit it was my fault...I take full responsibility for the problem...I'm the one who messed up...I responded wrongly and accept the consequences that must follow!" Rather, we're more apt to blame, spew out excuses, and continuously point fingers at others. One thing about growth, as a Christian, is a new willingness for personal change in behavior---particularly in the area of sin. Before we seek to work on others, we need to be more eager to work on ourselves first. Many people will respect the witness of your life much quicker than the witness of your voice! Let's always remember, the choice is ours and will have the responsibility to change from the inside out (our attitudes, moods, hearts, minds, and perspectives).