Natural Selection

Caramel Macchiato or Mocha Frappuccino? Mac or PC?? Coke or Pepsi? The red pill or the blue pill??? To be or not to be? God or mammon?? So many choices.

Bob Dylan wrote a song called You Gotta Serve Somebody. I think Jesus beat him to the punch tho' about two thousand years ago, when He said, "You can't serve two masters... you can't serve God and mammon." I've been thinking about this today.

I recently read a statement that said what we choose to do isn't as crucial as whom we choose to serve. Meaning, if we choose to serve God, and wholeheartedly pursue that choice, we will choose to do things that will please Him. Our choices will be based upon His criteria, and our actions will flow out of that. And vice versa.

That statement makes sense to me. We were talking last weekend in our marriage conference about how far mankind has come from God's original intention for us. I got to thinking about how empowering the idea of 'choice' really is. When God created mankind, He chose to give us the freedom to choose. It wasn't the safe course; robots are more predictable. But choice was the way to build a meaningful relationship. The freedom to choose is a choice gift.

When Eve chose to eat the pretty fruit, she wasn't choosing between chomping on a Macintosh or a Gala. Her choice was between choosing to serve God, or choosing to serve herself. She placed her logic, and her own perceptions of what was good for her, above what she knew of God. Her mindset and actions then became self-directed, self-centered, and self-fulfilled. Then she decided to share this new perspective with Adam, who also had to make a choice.

Choice really is a very powerful thing. Inherently, we desire the freedom to choose. Men and women have put their lives on the line for freedom. Good novels are enriched by heros and heroines who have to make hard choices; we sit in movie theatres and hold our breath hoping Indiana Jones will 'choose wisely'. But so often, people use excuses like... I had no choice, I couldn't help it... It's just the way I am.

In truth, choice is part of our human nature. My husband often told our daughters that to choose one thing meant to not choose something else. So, to not choose is also a choice.

While it is difficult sometimes to know what the 'right' choice is, or to do the 'right' thing, whomever you choose to serve will become your barometer of your heart. I'm prone to choose to worry instead of to trust. That's something I'm working to overcome, because I personally have made my choice to serve God, and worry is not part of His plan. My actions will ultimately reflect how I maintain that choice.

You Gotta Serve Somebody.