Choosing the Good
by Gene Easley
"And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41-42).
We are all responsible for our choices. The Scripture gives various examples of those who made choices. Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear the words of life. Martha was busy with preparing meals. Preparing meals is an important part of our life, but the importance of this story is that one needs to know life’s priorities. He or she needs to know when to put other things aside and take advantage of the opportunity to sit at Jesus’ feet. Mary chose that good thing, and no one could take that from her.
Lot chose the well-watered plains of Jordan. Though it appeared to be the best choice, selfishness dominated his decision for Jordan’s plains. One bad choice led to another. Sodom began to look better than his present home. Lot ignored the fact that Sodom was a wicked city, and his children would be raised in a society without morals. Financial security drove him. The end result was total disaster for Lot and for his family.
Lot’s wife also made a bad choice in looking back at Sodom--contrary to the command of God. His two daughters made bad choices and would forever disgrace their father. One bad choice often lays the groundwork for other bad choices.
Esau chose a bowl of beans over his birthright. His value system was faulty. He later wept with bitter tears after he had also lost the blessing and could find no place of repentance. His choices had sealed his destiny. Choices do matter. They are of considerable importance.
Moses chose rather to suffer with the children of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. His critics thought he had made a bad decision. Many will laugh at you, too, for your choices, and some will discredit your ability to make good, sound decisions. And to make a right choice may cost more than mere criticism. But that’s all right, because there is coming a day when God will take us home. Standing before Him we will be rewarded according to the deeds done in our bodies. We may be discredited now, in this life, but the day of reckoning is coming.
The apostle Paul was warned not to go to Jerusalem. The Spirit of God moved on certain prophets who assured Paul that bonds and imprisonment awaited him if he continued his journey to that Jewish city. It is obvious when we know the end of the story that the prophets were hearing from God. But Paul was not really concerned with whether or not the prophets were hearing from God. And I don’t believe either that the warnings given by the Holy Spirit were given to stop Paul from going. Rather, they were given to allow Paul to make a decision about serving God. He chose what he thought would most honor God and the choice that would keep him in God’s will and purpose. The troubles this choice brought Paul would cause some to think he had made a bad choice.
As a result of this choice, for the rest of Paul’s life, the prison cell would be a very familiar place. But it was for the glory of God. For from those prison cells, we have access to wonderful letters Paul wrote to fellow believers which have blessed and edified the church for nearly two thousand years. The Epistles of Paul that we read and cherish were the result of a right decision. Choices do have a long-range effect. What kind of choices are we making today?
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