»This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life so that you and your children may live… » (Deuteronomy 30:19)
The Christian life as life in general is a life by choice. I would like through this second chapter not only to encourage us to make the right choice but to make it our first choice.
After we become Christians, one of the devil’s ruses is to lead us to be content with a life of second choice, not only leading us astray from salvation but also from our calling, our destiny, and our ability to serve God effectively. Throughout scripture we see men taking up the common life; some in the sense that they have sinned as Samson, Saul, Balaam, etc., others in the sense that they opted for second choice when they were destined for first choice.
The books of Judges and I and II Kings show us many men chosen and blessed by God who did not know how to enter or stay in the fullness that the Lord had for them from the beginning. Readingabout the kings, this classic phrase frequently recurs:
»….he reigned… he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord…. The high places, however, were not removed… » (II Kings 15:1-5)
In other words, they followed God but were content to do it imperfectly, with a will and a way of second choices. When we make the choice of second best, we find ourselves with second-choice blessings. Whereas God wanted to feed us with the « finest wheat » and satisfy us with « honey from the rock, » we find ourselves faced with stale bread and white sugar.
»If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you. » (Psalm 81:14-1 7)
Second choice is not always to live in sin. It is sometimes to live in the permissive will of God when we are called to his perfect will. It is like running on the spare tire rather than the proper one.
Second best has the taste and resembles the real thing… BUT IT IS NOT FIRST CHOICE!!!
I can always marry a kind, Christian woman and be happy in general, but what really matters is to marry the woman God plans for me. I can always be in a church, but which one does God call me to hold a position in and be effective? I can always be a minister, but what ministry exactly has God called me into. It is time to be discontent with second choice!
GOD CALLS US TO FIRST CHOICE!
In buying meat, we have first choice, which is tender and melts in our mouth, and second choice, which is harder and fatty. Second choice is better than no choice at all, but in the end it is not the same. Always eating second-class meat will tend to give us high cholesterol (many Christians have spiritual cholesterol!)
Why are so many Christians happy with second best? The answer is simple. The second choice/class costs less than the first. When the butcher offers us first class (Grade A) meat, he points out the difference in the cost. In the same way, in the Christian life, there is a higher price to pay to reach first class.
The devil is going to regularly try and divert us by proposing second choice. At the time, we do not notice the difference, but in the end we are not left with much. We even find ourselves paying a hundred times the price we intended by choosing second class. In the beginning, second class seems the easy solution, but in the end it leads to the loss of our dreams.
ABRAHAM AND LOT
Abraham andLotare typical examples of people who chose differently. At one point, they separated, and each one made a choice of direction. Abraham (at the time, Abram) said toLot:
»Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left. Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah). So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company; Abraham lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. » (Genesis 13:9-12)
Lot looked at the plain which was green and let his eyes and impulsiveness influence his choice. Abraham was led by his heart, seeking Lot’s interests, lettingLot choose first. They made their choice in two different states of mind (or spirit).
It is our state of mind that will often define our choice. Our pride, impulsiveness, and visual judgment will cause us to make poor decisions thinking they are good ones. If a man chooses a wife based on her physical beauty he risks ending up seriously disappointed after only a few years of marriage. With passing years, physical beauty even if it remains will not be a sufficient reason to stay married.
»The Lord said to Abraham after Lot had parted from him, Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west.; All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. » (Genesis 13:14)
After parting, God showed Abraham a much better land thanLot had chosen. We should make our choices impartially, with good intentions, even if it seems that we are losing in the beginning. God will show us very quickly that He has better things to give us than we can imagine.
»Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen! » (Ephesians 3:20-21)
After years of separation we see Abraham andLot again. Abraham has succeeded in everything. Lot has lost everything. God still lovesLot, but He can only bring him out of the circumstances like an ember out of the fire. Our carnal choices pass away with time because the flesh’s own nature is to pass away.
Despite everything, in his mercy God blesses as best he can second choice. We were called to full-time ministry, but we sell potatoes. God will bless potato sells yet in the end, we will be thinking, « If only we had followed our calling we’d be happier and deeply satisfied. » Yet if God has called us to sell potatoes then we will be blessed and happy selling potatoes.
SECOND CHOICE AND HUMAN WILL
We are the ones who often choose God’s second for our life!!! He is not the one who imposes it upon us because his plan for us from the beginning is the first choice!
God had foreseen, in his perfect plan, that the Hebrews did not have a king before the Messiah (or at least David) appeared, but the Jews demanded a king before the time. God finally gave them one and warned them about the the consequences.
»But when they said, « Give us a king to lead us, » this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the Lord told him, « Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as king… Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do. » (I Samuel 8:6,7,9)
God cites a list of disadvantages in having the kind of king they wanted. Why did they want a king anyway; it was second choice compared to what God had in store for them. The answer is so classic:
»The people refused to listen to Samuel. « No! » they said. We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and go out before us and fight our battles. » (I Samuel 8:19-20)
They wanted to be like everyone else, and this way of thinking prevented them from choosing God’s will as first choice. The desire to be like everyone else prevents many people from opting for first choice: we want traditional church meetings, a pastor like the others, a format that does not shock too much etc.
The devil has more openings, rights to act, in the second choice than in the first, and the king ofIsraelwas soon a problem for the Israelites.
»…. you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day. » (I Samuel 8:18)
Digression: Brothers and sisters, the choice of our leaders must not be decided on the basis of who talks more loudly than the others or is less clumsy than the others, but on he who has more goodness and compassion than the others. For in the course of time, these are the characteristics that will cause him to help us, support, and love us, quite simply.
We see that God can grant our wishes for something which doesn’t truly correspond to his will because we insist too much. By insisting in this way, we show that our will has priority over His. Problems soon follow these decisions. Thank God that he does not always answer every prayer as we think he should because in time we would regret those answers. Seeking God’s will to the detriment of our own will, leads to the first choice. The opposite leads to second choice.
»YES BUT GOD PERMITS IT »
Sometimes we think that simply because God allows something it is his will. This is not always the case. God allowed the birth of Ishmael, yet he was called « the son according to the flesh, » while Isaac is called the son of the promise. The son of the flesh soon began persecuting the son of the promise.
»Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of the promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son. (Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. » (Galatians 4:28-31)
Many of the Christians who have made the second choice find themselves criticizing those who have chosen the first choice and eventually begin to persecute them. It is a principle. There is too much flesh in the second choice. This causes carnal words and acts.
The Christian world is full of Ishmaels; we have all produced too many Ishmaels in the past. it is time to want Isaac, and Isaac alone! We are called to enter into the promises of Isaac, of FIRST CHOICE, to have first choice (first class) churches etc.
Where there is first choice, the anointing of laughter is often revealed because Isaac means laughter. The joy of the Lord is a sign of first choice. Where there is a spirit of dispute, malicious gossip and jealousy, it is an Ishmael church because Ishmael persecuted Isaac. (Galatians 4:29)
»But be careful, only the son of promise, who lives according to the Spirit, is supposed to inherit promises of various blessings. » (Galatians 4:30)
Why did Abraham have Ishmael? Because at a certain point he lost his first choice vision! The first choice vision said that the promise would come through Sarah although she was elderly and barren. All through our lives we are faced with two choices for our lives, our ministries, for our church, our home, etc. Based on our choice, we will have either the blessing of the first choice or the second choice.
NUANCES (SUBTLE DIFFERENCES)
The fact that we make first choice decisions does not mean that we will always live in abundance, every moment at all levels. I teach the message of prosperity because it is Biblical, and I believe that God wants to make His children prosper. However, some think that if we are in God’s perfect plan we will only live in prosperity which is unbalanced reasoning. Paul states:
»…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. » (Philippians 4:11-13)
It is important for Christians to be able to adapt to whatever situation they are in; a missionary who cannot handle a hotel without air conditioning is of little use for reaching the nations with the gospel.
Things can be either really good or really bad, and still be in the perfect will of God. Once when traveling in theUnited Stateswe arrived to pick up our rental car but were told the intended car had not arrived and we would have to wait a short time. While I was praying in the parking lot, I had a sensation that an angel was on the premises taking care of us. Soon an employee came and told us that since the reserved car could not be provided, the management would give us, in its place, a car of much greater class and cost if we had rented that one. It was a white Cadillac, four-door, with all the luxury accessories. We traveled in theUnited Statesfor two months in this very nice car. It was as if God was saying, « I want to give you the first class concerning your comfort for this trip. »
Now, following this trip we might be inMadagascaror The Congo, and have to wash in cold water, without the benefit of toilet seats yet be just as much in God’s perfect will and plan as we were in the luxury car in theUnited States. Flexibility is an integral part of the service of the Lord.
BE THE FIRST CHOICE YOURSELVES
We all want first choice, a first class job, a first choice wife, a first choice ministry, etc. We must strive to be first choice or first class for others. Many people want to receive from others something they’ve not given themselves. They want to exchange peanuts for gold nuggets.
What a man sows, he reaps. Sow first choice and we will reap first choice. We need to become a first choice spouse, a first choice Christian. May other people say of us, « this person is a person of peace; wherever he goes, he does good to people simply by his presence, » instead of saying « How gross is he/she…. »
For a long time I had a fox terrier; this type of dog has a very strong jaw. When we offered him a stick, he grasped it and would not let go. We could lift the stick, turn around with it, and the dog still held on to the stick; he let himself be lifted up with it, even turning with it.
It is the form of relentlessness, of faith, of perseverance which enables us to grasp the first choice in our life, despite the numerous traps of the devil who wants us to lose our grip and be content with second choice.
In these days, God needs a people who have opted for first choice, Christians of first choice with visions of first choice. For the revival that is coming is a revival of first choice. May it be said on this subject as it was said of Mary:
»….but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. » (Luke 10:42)