Choices.

"Few people make a deliberate choice between good and evil; the choice is usually between what we want to do and what we ought to do."

-Anonymous

" God gives man a will, but man must make the choices."

-Anonymous

"Almost everybody knows the difference between right and wrong, but some hate to make decisions."

-Anonymous

"The foolishness of a man twists his way, And his heart frets against the Lord."

-Proverbs 19:3 NKJV

"People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord."

-Proverbs 19:3 NLT

It seems to me that people love to point the finger but always at somebody else. In many cases, the finger is pointed toward God. "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord" (Proverbs 19:3) There's something in our society today that says, "It's not my fault. Blame somebody else." Why is it that we seldom hear, "It's my fault. I made a bad choice. I did it."

I don't understand how people can continually make one bad choice after another and when things fall apart (and they do fall apart) it's always God's fault. "Why did God do this? Why did God not stop this? Why did God let this happen? Why did God . . . ?"

When we give serious thought to what's happening in this world, everything comes down to one word: Choices. We are, as individuals, the sum total of all the choices we've ever made. Face it! Let's quit blaming God. Even when somebody else's bad choices affect us we still have a choice to make!

God really does have a super plan for each of us. I don't believe we can comprehend it all but he has it nonetheless and wants us to get in on it. He will not, however, force his plan on us. That would be a divine dictatorship and we serve a gracious God. God doesn't want puppets he desire disciples . . . followers who choose to do so! Unfortunately, there are those who claim to be followers of Jesus who still want to live by their own plans and rules. Proverbs says they " . . . live by their own foolishness . . . " Choices without the wisdom of God are foolish choices. In order for us to follow wisely we must choose wisely. In order for us to choose wisely we must seek the God of wisdom who freely gives his wisdom. "If you need wisdom--if you want to know what God wants you to do--ask him and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking" (James 1:5). God wants to share his wisdom, his thoughts, his advice, and his heart with us everyday and for every choice! Without his wisdom we won't even begin to understand his ways for us.

In Isaiah 55:6-9 we read, "Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

"'My thoughts are completely different from yours,' says the Lord. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.'"

We don't even think on the same level as our God! He wants us to take his advice and he wants us to make wise choices but we would rather live by our own foolishness and abandon his wisdom. Then when our foolish choices produce ruined lives it's time to point the finger . . . God did it! We, with our history of stupid choices, blame the Almighty and his eternal wisdom for the fruits of our foolish choices. Thats just another dumb choice!

"Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to be his teacher or counselor? Has the Lord ever needed anyone's advice? Does he need instruction about what is good and bad" (Isaiah 40:13-14)? Do we really think we are in a position to tell God he blew it because we made bad choices? C'mon. When we think like that we're not thinking!

When bad things happen because of our bad choices and we start blaming God, first we should ask ourselves some very personal questions:

"Was this the result of a wise choice?"

"Did I (we) even consider asking God for wisdom about this?"

"Did this choice honor God?"

"Was I somewhere I should not have been?"

"Was I doing something I should not have been doing?"

"Why am I blaming God when I know I made a foolish choice?"

"Do I really care about God's choices?"

Bad things do happen to good people all the time. God never promised to keep us out of bad experiences but he did promise to deliver us through them. What this verse is referring to is not bad things happening to good people but bad things happening to foolish people because they make bad choices. God's desire is that we make wise choices based entirely on his Word and his wisdom, what we ought to do not what we want to do.

"So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do" (Ephesians 5:15-17).

Choose wisely!