To Serve Christ, or Not?

"If we give God service it must be because He gives us grace. We work for Him because He works in us."  - Charles Spurgeon

Every day of our lives we are confronted with various decisions. For example, some may involve what we want to wear that day, or what we will have for breakfast or lunch. Decisions cannot be avoided, they are part of our lives.

We know that decisions come in different sizes, too. There are minor decisions, such as those I mention above. Then, there are major decisions, like buying a house or car, accepting a job, moving to another location, getting married and starting a family, etc.

Of all the decisions we make in our lives, however, none is more important than choosing whether to serve Christ, or not. At first glance, this may not sound that difficult to do. After all, it's either yes, or no, right? Before we answer this, let's see how this was handled by another.

Joshua, the successor of Moses as the leader of Israel, experienced this first-hand. In his farewell speech he told the people they would have to decide whether to serve God or not (Joshua 24:14-18). But, this would not be easy as there were many voices calling for the loyalty of the people. These voices were "false gods."

As they still do today, these false gods looked tempting and promised much. Joshua told them that, in the end, they would deliver only boredom and emptiness. But it wasn't a decision he could make for them. They had to decide for themselves which "God or god" they would trust for life.

What are some of these "false gods" that try to influence our decision? Why don't we take a look at a few of the more common ones.

There is materialism (the love of things such as clothes, cars, houses, etc.); pleasure (where life is just one big party and we partake in whatever excesses we can grab hold of); success (the need to make it to the top at the cost of your family, friends, and personal integrity); and popularity (where we compromise ourselves to be the most popular).

No doubt, they are all very tempting. These gods call out to us, their voices are sweet and enticing. It is far too easy to fall under their spell. Then suddenly, the voice of God comes to us. Considering all of the other voices, God's voice sounds so gentle and kind.

He tells us that "things" won't bring us life. They can only bring emptiness. We must never let them control us, instead, we must retain control over them. God adds that caving in to our passions leads to our destruction. We become slaves to our emotions, instead of being in charge of them.

The pursuit of pleasure for its own sake will one day leave us unfulfilled. It's lonely at the top, as we have seen this story played out over and over across the ages. God tells us that to be a success in life is not the goal of life; but rather to be a servant.

As for being popular? God tells us that's not what's important. What is important is being right, decent, and morally strong. How about you? Not if, but when you are confronted with temptation, what will you decide? Will you follow Joshua's example and say, "...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," or not?  (Joshua 24: 15)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 13:4; Matthew 6:24; Romans 12:10; Mark 10:45; 1 Samuel 12:24; 

Prayer: Jesus, may You inspire me to be welcoming and generous in my attitude toward others, showing individuals that they matter and are important, amen.

God be with you always,

Kate