Today we will learn one of the most powerful words in our language and the concept behind it. The word is NO, and the concept is CHOICE. We have a choice because we are made in the image of God. Other creatures have limited or no choices at all. Most of creation is programmed to respond in preset ways to certain conditions. We call this instinct, but in reality it is simply the way God made the world.
Human beings are not another species of animal, a kind of hairless ape. We are made in the image and the likeness of God. Because we have physical bodies, we also have instinct. We are programmed to breathe, and our hearts are programmed to beat without any choice or thought. Our choices makes the difference in happiness and tragedy.
There are two choices, YES and NO. Either can be easy. We can simply choose to let someone else make the choice for us. If the other person is making good choices, we may be all right, but, if the other person is making a bad choices, our choices will be bad, too.
Remember two things. One is that we are not neutral creatures. We are sinners by nature, even when we are not sinners by choice. This means that our inclination is toward sin, not righteousness. Did you ever have a class in school lying? Did anyone ever have to tell you how to lie and get you to practice so that you became good at it? Probably not.
Say no to Evil men.
The first thing you have to keep in mind is that you always have a choice. You never have to do wrong. Evil may be tempting, and evil men may change. The consequences of not "going along" may be severe, but you can always choice. The conditions that will help you make a good choice are spelled out plainly.
Saying no involves saying no to evil men. Your choices are seldom choices of Philosophy. Every choice is in some way personal. How does anyone come to rejoice in evil, to delight in wickedness or to walk a crooked way? It is through choices gradually made over a period of time.
Say no to flattering temptation.
When we choose friends, there needs to be a conscious choice, not just the accidental paring of people in various situations. All of us like to be flattered, even when we know the flattery is wrong. The sinful world leaves God out and paints a pretty picture of sin. We see it portrayed as a wonderful way to live. We are told that we all need to decide is whether of not something feels good. We never see the death and destruction that result from flattery.
At the time anyone gives in to temptation, it makes sense to him. We go through a process called rationalization, where we can make evil seem good and good seem harmful. No matter how serious the sin, someone can rationalize it and talk himself into thinking that he needs to commit it. It all begins with flattery. These lies, and remember that flattery is always based on a lie, lead us into making choices that we would not make if we had all the facts and used good judgment.
Do you want to die? Do you enjoy pain? Do you wake up every morning looking forward to another day of intense suffering? Of course not, no one does, but these things are the carefully disguised outcome of the flattery that leads us to sin. No one is immune to flattery. The only way to avoid it is to recognize it for what it is, a door to destruction. When someone tells you that you are better, brighter or prettier than you know you are, look out. They are going to try to get you to set aside your better judgment and start down a path of destruction.
Satan is a liar. He deliberately misleads us so that we end up on the road to death and hell. The first step is to forsake the things that are right and substitute the things that are wrong. Never take the power of choice lightly. We can make choices casually, but the consequences are never casual. It is easy to forsake and forget. These are not carefully considered decisions, they are the kinds of choices that we often make in spiritual matters. No matter what your choice, at least be aware that you are making one.
Any thought?
Let's have a coffee
Hari
Enjoy reading....Blessings
