PerryDox – BeJustAChristian

               Certain choices made in life never are really made, at least not consciously. The direction selected was never really selected. It just…was.  Free-will existed to choose other avenues, but the road taken appeared the only way. Reality consisted not of choices but  of certainties. Some  of these decisions have been major; some might seem funny, and others eternally serious.

   For example, men – did you make the decision to wear pants, instead of, oh let’s say, a skirt?  No!  Society decided for us.  American men do not wear dresses, robes or kilts – at least not normally! Especially with clothing, society decides so much that we must constantly watch the unconscious, society-driven decisions we unconsciously accept. Beware of being unaware!  Think, are dress designers driven by Biblical standards of modesty and decency?  Some parents have been regulated to buying shorts for their daughters in the boys department!  Society has decided that girls wear short-shorts, but boys were long-shorts.  Society has decided that males where long bathing suits, but females where water-proof “underwear.”  In what we wear, are we influenced more by society or scripture?  Make a choice as to what we wear and why.

   Some never chose marriage.  They chose who to marry, but marriage was never an option vying with “living together.”  They didn’t have to choose – living a godly life already made that decision.  On another level, for some not being married never was a choice, but with Paul he consciously made that decision (1 Corinthians 7).  In getting married, some are both lucky and blessed.  Some choose to marry, but never find someone to help them make that choice a reality.  A few choose never to marry.  To be honest, I don’t ever remember even considering celibacy!  Of course, finding someone who agreed with my decision to marry helped!!!

   Having children is something else that never required making a decision for many. Some couples fight over whether to have children.   Some couples choose to have children, but are unable.  For me, having children was simply what was supposed to happen when you get married; especially when your mother sends maternity clothes before you celebrate your first wedding anniversary!!!

   Drinking alcoholic beverages was never a choice for many Christians.  We teetotalers had the free-will to drink and get drunk. However, personally, I don’t ever recall asking myself if I wanted to. I do not want to drink, nor need to drink, nor have to drink.  And while the ubiquitous commercials naturally pique one’s curiosity, it is not strong enough to have to make a decision – that decision was made by how my parents raised me, and by how I desire to continue walking with Jesus.

   Attending all the services of the church for many has never been an option on which to opt-out – even after having children.  Parents can set a good example for their children early in life in not allowing anything to interfere.  In a real sense, attending all the services can be as much a part of our life as wearing pants…though for a different and vastly superior reason.

   Falling from grace (Galatians 5:4) is something many Christians choose. We should not be so bold to boast, like Peter (Matthew 26:33-35), that we will never deny or fall from Jesus’ protected hand.  Falling away, though, seems as much a choice for some as eating cockroaches. Little children eat disgusting things.  We probably all know of children who ate a cockroach – or we were that child!   Be honest, when you see a cockroach, or other insects, do you have to make a decision whether or not to eat it? I doubt it. Most of us don’t intently look at a roach or spider and think, “Hmmm, I wonder….”  One of the greatest assurances against having to make the decision to not fall away is to never have to make the decision whether or not to attend all the services of the church.  Can you think of a single instance where someone went from perfect attendance to zero attendance in one swoop.  Falling away from God’s grace is generally not a choice people make.  Does anyone know of anyone who woke up one morning and said, “I think I’ll stop loving God!”  No.  So how does it happen?  By the other choices we make. 

   Certain choices in life always lead to other choices. Let us all watch out for those unconscious decisions.   Which direction will we consciously choose for all of eternity?

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This entry was posted by PHall on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 6:29 pm and is filed under Matthew, I Corinthians, Galatians. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.