I want to share with you a few thoughts regarding how to make wise choices in life so that you can enjoy life to its fullest, just as your loving Father in Heaven wants you to enjoy it. Studies tell us that we make thousands of choices every single day. Your power of choice is perhaps the greatest thing that you can exercise. People in many countries of the world do not have this privilege. You may remember before 1989 under the Communist regime in Europe how people were treated and their liberty was restricted. We can praise God for the freedom and religious liberty we still enjoy today.
Life is a series of choices. Many choices are trivial and do not have any lasting impact, but many of the choices you make can greatly affect your life. Making wise choices in this 21st century is the key to happiness for the rest of your life. We need to make wise choices. No matter what age we are or what stage of life we are in, we still find ourselves confronted with a series of choices each and every day. Choices like what job we take, or what house we live in. A very important choice we make is who we choose to marry. And then there are other choices such as how we invest our money or how we raise our children. But the most urgent and important choice someone has to make is “whom will you serve?” Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24
We have a lot of important choices that we make each and every day. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” Isaiah 30:21. We need to hear that voice. We need that direction. And that direction comes from heaven. I remember 19 years ago how God gave me a dream in which He showed me clearly that if I continued in the way I was going (the way of this life with all its pleasures) I would die. It was so obvious and so clear to me that morning when I woke up, that there was something wrong with my life and that God disapproved of it. Praise God that after 19 years I am so happy for the decision I made in giving my life to Jesus. May I suggest to you to do the same because, trust me, this is the best decision you will ever make.
Choices determine the direction of our life and our destiny. Some decisions have far reaching consequences and other decisions are not so far reaching. However, many of the decisions we make determine our character, determine our destiny, and determine our eternity. Some people can make snap decisions and it does not bother them at all, while other people have difficulty making any decision. They stay in a state of indecision.
One of the mistakes that people make is that they make decisions without counsel from God. In the book of Proverbs, Solomon warns us over and over again about depending upon man’s wisdom rather than seeking God’s wisdom when making decisions. Many of us have seen the dire consequences of depending on our own wisdom and looking at circumstances from the perspective of man rather than making decisions by seeking the counsel of God and looking at things from His perspective.
“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.” Proverbs 28:26. Ask yourself—how wise are you in making decisions? When you have multiple options in front of you, how do you determine which is the best choice? How do you avoid making a bad choice? For those of us who love Jesus we want to know how to make choices that honor God and keep us from falling.
The Old Testament is a source of very important counsels and provides valuable lessons for Christians today. The Apostle Paul said, “Now all these things happened unto them as ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11. In other words, the Bible tells us that there are things written in its pages to benefit us, and they were written to teach us lessons. When we study the Bible we find out how people were affected by the choices they made, both positive and negative, some settling their destiny forever.
From the life of Lot we can learn many lessons regarding the consequences of choices. He made a choice as to where to live, and as a result he experienced war and kidnapping (Genesis 14). What else do we find written about Lot’s choice? “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;).” 2 Peter 2:7–8
Lot was oppressed and tormented by the filthy conduct of the wicked. In Genesis 19 we read about the loss of all his possessions, the death of his wife, and incest with his daughters. All of these things happened to Lot because of the choices he made (most importantly, the place he chose to live) at some point in his life, and they greatly affected his future. Since choices often result in eternally significant consequences, we must make choices in line with God’s principles. Abram indeed made a good choice in obeying God and following His counsels. Of course there was a time in his life when he also failed, but he did not remain there in the fallen state; he kept walking and walking with God.
The herdsmen of Lot and of Abram were quarreling because there was not adequate land to support all their flocks. So Abram gave Lot his choice of where to live. Lot surveyed the land and decided to move down into the lush Jordan valley. That choice was the beginning of Lot’s gradual but steady spiritual decline. First he looked toward Sodom. “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where.” Genesis 13:10. Then he moved his tents near Sodom. “Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.” Genesis 13:12. Next we find him living in Sodom. “Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods.” Genesis 14:12. Finally he is sitting in the gate of Sodom. “Lot sat in the gate of Sodom.” Genesis 19:1
He lost his wife, barely escaped with his own life and his two daughters, and goes hiding in a cave where his daughters make him drunk and commit incest with him. The offspring of those disgraceful nights were the Moabites and the Ammonites, two of Israel’s perennial enemies. It all began with Lot’s choice to live near Sodom. It is possible to gain the whole world and lose your soul. There is much more in life than outward display and material wealth. We must base our choices on God’s Word, not on the assumptions of our culture. Those principles encompass the whole Bible and take a
lifetime to learn thoroughly. There are three basic principles that I want to mention:
- Make choices which value God’s eternal promises over immediate pleasure. The Lord Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
Most of us want to seek other things first and add the kingdom of God later in our spare time. Lot’s choice of Sodom was based on what would bring him quick gratification; but he did not take into account God’s promise to Abram about the land. After Lot moved to Sodom, the Lord reaffirmed His promise to Abram and even expanded on it. “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.” Genesis 13:14–17
As believers we are to live by faith in the promises of God. When we face decisions, we must take God into account and make those decisions in line with His promises and principles, not with the immediate gratification of the flesh in mind. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but its end therof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 14:12
- Make choices which value godliness over greed. In Genesis 13:10 we read that Lot lifted up his eyes and chose the land which looked the best to him. He took off for the good life and left Abram behind, in dusty Canaan, where there had just been a severe famine.
Perhaps as Abram was looking around, his eyes fell down to the dusty soil on which he was standing. So the Lord says, “Do you see all that dust? I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.” Once again we see how God evaluates our choices and rewards them. Lot chose by sight and ended up spiritually and financially bankrupt. He escaped Sodom with the clothes on his back and the last we hear of him is that he was living in a cave. The things he saw and obtained did not bring him the lasting happiness he expected. Abram chose by faith, not by sight, and ended up spiritually and financially blessed. He saw and possessed by faith the whole land of Canaan. Lot lived for greed and came up empty. Abram lived for God and came up full.
- Make choices which value fellowship with God over the approval of the world. We must put fellowship with God above the approval of the world in all our decisions.
As Christians, we always face tension: If we pull out of the world too far, we lose our witness because there is no contact. On the other hand, if we blend in with the world, we lose both our fellowship with God and our witness to the world. Jesus was the friend of sinners, but He was never tainted by their sin because He put a premium on fellowship with the Father and He never sought the approval of the world. He was in the world with a clear sense of His mission, to glorify the Father and to seek and to save the lost. May God help us to follow His example. Amen.
Nicholas Anca