Choice

You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of 

the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day 

that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17).

To eat or not to eat; that is the question! In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were confronted with a choice. God gave the first humans just one commandment; an order not to do something but to not do something. It is impossible to imagine a decision where the right choice was more obvious or easier than this! Yet our first ancestors made a really bad decision (see Genesis 3).  

Although many have tried to explain how such a perfectly wise couple could make such a perfectly stupid choice, the mystery of iniquity remains. And ever since that fateful day, human history has been one long sad story of bad decisions. One might say that our lives are the sum total of the choices we make.  

In a pluralistic, relativistic world like ours, many pretend that one choice is as good as another. “It doesn’t matter what you choose but that you choose,” many say today. “Just be authentic, and you’ll end up in a good place.” Really? How differently the Bible describes the significance of our choices! We might summarize its message in four short statements.

Ultimately, our options in life are two, and only two.  

We like to imagine that life is like the cereal aisle in the grocery store: full of choices. And we love to pretend that if we make a poor choice, we’ll have the opportunity to make a better choice the next time we go to the store. 

Although the Bible certainly recognizes that many decisions in life have only marginal significance, it insists there is one, foundational, all-encompassing decision that confronts every human being, a decision that will define the ultimate shape and destiny of one’s life. And this decision has two, and only two options: life and death, blessing and curse, good and evil, the right way and the wrong way. Although many sermons in the Bible emphasize the importance of choice, no one stated the reality more eloquently than Moses.

15 See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord… by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments… then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you… 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish…..   19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live…. (Deut. 30:15-19).

Opportunities to choose the right path are rare.

In our own minds, we think we can choose the right path whenever we want. “I may not decide to become a disciple of Jesus today; but tomorrow maybe I will,” we imagine. But life simply does not work this way. Every businessman understands that opportunity knocks. Although he may work hard and prepare, the market economy has a life of its own. No businessman wakes up one morning and decides to be successful. He prepares, he waits, he explores; and when opportunity knocks, he decides to act – or not. 

In the gospels we learn that the disciples chose to follow Jesus only because he chose them first! One day he abruptly walked into their lives, put his finger in their chest, and said, “Follow me” (see Matt. 4:18-22; 9:9). Jesus put it this way: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (Jn. 15:16)  He stands at the door of our heart and knocks (see Rev. 3:20. Emphasis added.). This means that the only moment we have to make a decision to become a follower of Jesus Christ is the moment given to us by God. He chooses the moment. We choose how we will respond.  

We must choose! Not to decide is to decide.

When the moment of decision comes, neutrality is not an option. There is no middle ground. And choosing not to choose is itself a choice; a very bad choice. Peter Kreeft imagines Romeo proposing marriage to Juliet, who replies:“ Give me some time to make up my mind.” Day after day he keeps coming and, day after day she says the same thing: “I need more time; maybe tomorrow.” There comes a point, however, when Juliet’s indecision becomes her decision; when her “maybe” means “no”. Kreeft then makes his point: “Christianity is God’s marriage proposal to the soul.” Although a moment of reflection may be in order, we soon discover that we have only two options. “Yes” or “no”. Saying “give me more time” is equivalent to saying “no”.  

God stands ready to help us make the right choice.

When we find ourselves standing at the crossroads of life, we may, at first, feel paralyzed. The magnitude of the decision is just too much to handle. Troubled by doubt, gripped by fear, and tormented by competing desires, we find ourselves frozen in place, unable to choose. Like Paul, during an agonizing moment in his own spiritual journey, we cry out: “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Rom. 7:18).  

Dear friend, if you find yourself at such a crossroads, unable to choose the path you know you should; let me encourage you to call out to God for help. He promises to come to the assistance of those who call out to him. You cannot find God without God’s help! And that, of course, is precisely the point!