Choices We Make

When I was employed at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, I had to take courses on "Control Theory." It had been a "Twelve step" program when I was hired, having been run by the Salvation Army, until it came under new management of an existentialist elitist. The bottom line was transforming lives and destinies without any adaptation of spirituality. For him God was off somewhere playing golf and had no time for the world He created. Therefore it was his god-like responsibility to take control of his and everyone else's life around him. All it produced however was chaos (which he enjoyed quite thoroughly). He had become his own higher power.

In the right perspective, taking control of life's situations is not totally wrong. However, independent control may not lean toward moral and ethical behavior that can adversely affect other people's lives. If a person desires that kind of control then he should live alone on a mountain top. But manipulating people is like water and air to them.

We have to have some control in our life, God made us that way. It's what we do with that control that is going to make the difference between being human or humane. Ultimately, God is in control no matter what decision we make about our life. So it's really important we make the right choice. I'm sure Pharaoh didn't wake up one morning and say, "Hmm, this might be a good day to have a blood river, flies in my lentil soup and locusts eating up all my corn." Pharaoh had made his choice before God brought all of those plagues into his life, and He would have brought it no matter what Pharaoh was thinking of doing because God had a plan to bring His people out of Egypt and nothing was going to deter His efforts.

If we don't get on the same page with God, He just may remove us totally from His book. People just don't believe that God is sovereign anymore--not since hyper grace was introduced to the masses a few decades ago by evangelists spreading a half gospel. Since then the premise has been "I can do all things" instead of "I can do all things through Messiah who gives me strength." What people don't understand is that grace is not a license for selfishness, but it's contingent upon obedience to God through faith. Instead, they have been content to worship a golden calf of prosperity, eat well and dance the night away--indifferent to God. Let us eat and be merry for tomorrow we die!

When the Apostle Paul died daily to himself he didn't stop controlling his life, he simply gave his life new meaning by allowing God to use Him for His purpose. Paul had a choice, as we all do, and with that God-given ability he chose to put himself in God's hand. If we go through life thinking we don't have any control then we set ourselves up for someone else other than God to control us.

God is very active in His creation. He's not napping on Neptune, meandering on Mars, snoozing on Satu--well you get the point. He loves us more than we can ever imagine and He only desires the best for us. This implementation for His plan for us may differ than the concept we have for ourselves. This is why so many are unhappy and accuse God of indifference toward them and mankind as a whole.

The breath of God can be felt in our daily lives. Yeshua told Nicodemus that no one knows which the way the wind blows, where it comes from or where it is going. I'm sure He was illustrating the Spirit of God, who in the beginning was hovering over the waters, and remains hovering over creation as a faithful and caring Creator. We have only two major choices in life that affect all of our decisions. We either choose to serve God and others, or serve the world and ourselves. Shalom.
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