Which to Choose?

“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:14-15 ESV). I went to buy some shaving cream the other day and found the store was out of my usual brand. I thought it should be easy enough to pick a different one. That turned out to be more challenging than I thought, there were tons of them. But all the rows of choices created a new problem. Which to choose? Did I want creamy or scented? Did I want it with or without aloe? Should I choose with Vitamin E or without? Cream or lotion? Finally I decided on the one with “33% more for free” and went to the counter to pay. When I got there the choice was “paper or plastic?” All of life is full of choices. I've been thinking about the mid-term elections coming soon. I'm reminded that every year we make another set of choices. Vote for him? How about her? Sometimes it's confusing. As a matter of fact, it can even be painful. Usually it's only painful for the people involved in the campaigning. Still, despite the angst of elections and choices, we celebrate the fact that we get to choose. What a wonderful privilege and awesome responsibility. Even in our spiritual lives, God has granted us the amazing privilege of choice when we were born again. Will we serve him? Will we serve worldly objectives? Will we serve ourselves? Joshua understood this principle very well. In our reading today he is delivering a farewell address to the people. It is his last words of instruction for them to live in the new land God had given them. His choice is very clear. He will serve the Lord. The choice is ours. We have been given the grace of God to empower us to make good choices in life. Let's not blow it. Let's roll up our sleeves. Let's make wise choices regarding who serves in government leadership. Let's be even more cautious how we choose who gets our heart service. Deuteronomy 13:4 says, "It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. Joshua gave the people the choice whether to serve worldliness of the past, sinful desires of the present or the God of all time. The people were free to choose, but "not deciding" was not an option. To choose any way other than God's way was to choose self. Joshua chose to serve the Lord. As a matter of fact, he chose wisely for his entire household. We need to make wise choices as well in all the big areas and in the small ones too. Which do you choose?