A Thought For The Week Of November 17

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15) It's always about choices, isn't it. One of the things about a God who gives us free will is that we get to choose essentially everything - including what "god" we choose to follow. I suppose the only exception to that is that we don't get to choose our own eternal fate. Eternity belongs to God, so that we leave to God. But everything else we choose. Including what "god" we follow. I'm not equating that with what religion we follow. I'm not at all sure how God feels about religion. I am sure that God wants us to live in love. So, to some extent, we show what "god" we've chosen by whether or not we choose to live in love. Or do we choose as our "god" things that make us hateful or self-centred, unconcerned with those around us. I sour focus only on our own wants and our own desires and our own pleasures, and do we set ourselves to taking care of those things, no matter what we have to do to others to achieve them? Sadly, I suspect we do that far too often. If you're a person of sincere faith it's no different. You're still constantly tempted to satisfy yourself  rather than to serve God by serving others. That's why Joshua's question is such a good one. And, although it sounds like it in this passage, the question can't just be a one time thing - asked and answered and done with - because the temptation to serve myself (and, really, aren't "I" always the other “god” I might choose to serve?) is always there. So, I ask this day, whom will I serve? This day. And every day. I have to keep asking that question, and I have to keep re-committing myself to the answer - "as for me ... I will serve the Lord." Have a great week!