May 28 - Make Good Choices

 Read today’s texts first: Proverbs 7-9; Romans 9

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Dabbling in sin is like playing with fire
and the burn marks stay with you. 

You may have heard your mom say this to you as you left the house for school each morning, “Make good choices, Bobby!” (actually, the Bobby part was just me; hopefully your mom knew your name). Many, many years later, I still have the voice of my mom in my head and I’m still trying to follow that wise advice. Solomon is saying the same thing in our Proverbs reading today and it is even more emphatic when coupled with our reading in Romans.

Romans 9 is often misunderstood because it gives the impression that God makes our choices for us, at least the most important choice of our eternal destination. I stated my view on this controversy back on December 2nd (see “Stop – You’re Both Right!”), but for this journal entry I’ll give the simple version.

God is sovereign. In other words, He’s in charge and makes the ultimate choices. But He created us in His image, giving us the ability to make choices as well. That’s one of the things that distinguishes us from animals, which live out their days largely by instinct. Like the God who designed us, humans can make plans, set goals, exercise logic, listen to God’s Spirit, and make choices that will determine their eternal future. The rest of Romans makes that clear (9:33; 10:9,11-17; 11:12,15,20-23).

So does all of Proverbs, which is essentially advice on making good choices. In this passage the choice is between the wisdom of God and the seduction of an adulterous woman. What struck me was how one bad choice can lead to ultimate destruction: little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave (7:21-27; 9:16-18). Genuine remorse and repentance can change that inevitability, but there are still consequences to every bad choice. Solomon may have been the first to use the analogy, “it’s like playing with fire!” (6:27-29) and the burn marks stay with you.

“Lord, thank You for Your Word and Your Spirit (and my mom!), for providing me with everything I need to consistently make good choices. Today I choose to follow You and Your wisdom!”