Choice

Sometimes it's funny how little it takes of a book to make a successful draw of its point.

A lady at church loaned this off to me when I said recently that I was looking for a verse to explain the trial I'm experiencing. Perhaps there could not have been a more suitable book following after a discovery of free will, to practically exercise it.

I'd like to share some highlights[1].

I've known several Christians who were never seriously motivated to quit smoking until they committed themselves to making an impact on their world for the Lord. One fellow commented: 'Nobody will take me seriously as long as I smoke. People look at me as if to say, "If God is so powerful, why doesn't He help you quit smoking?"'

Satan loves to keep us in the bondage of sin because it greatly diminishes our potential for the kingdom of God. It diminishes our potential because we feel like hypocrites and we may also look like hypocrites if others know about our sin.

Along these same lines, a third reason why you must once again take up the battle against the sinful elements of your lifestyle is that one sin always leads to another. ... One undealt-with area opens up other areas as well. Once you become accustomed to a particular sin, once it becomes entrenched in your lifestyle, it is only a matter of time until other areas become problems.

Another reason you must once again take seriously those areas of your life you have allowed to slip is that choosing not to deal with sin ultimately leads to what scripture calls a hard heart. A hard heart develops when people hear the truth, believe the truth, but refuse to apply the truth.

Come on, this is too basic. It is so straightforward and common sensical. But for me, it's like my ears are open to hear. Knowing that I have choice, and, pondering on simple concepts like these, I've made a few further assumptions:

1 -- My decisions make the difference for whether or not I am sensitive to God.

2 -- Little things falling in a Romans 14 category, can be either okay in moderation or else not beneficial, in excess.

3 -- I have to choose to limit those things which bring my slow conformity to the world, and dullness to believe.

4 -- If I want to make light of the little choices, then I need to remember where it ends, in feeling generally unfulfilled.

Cool.


[1] Winning the War Within, by Charles Stanley. pp. 12, 13-14