What Choice Will You Make?....

1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, "for God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."

What a tough decision it is to make when you are faced with 2 options in life where one gives you instant satisfaction and an immediate resolve and the other one gives you life. We all may believe that when faced with this type of obstacle that we would all choose the right one but what is the right one? At the time of action, do we really know? Growing up I have spent more than half of my life fighting and going after others to fight for various reasons, none which are justifiable. When me and some friends get together, we often talk and laugh about the people we have "beat down" at clubs, parks, or the middle of the streets. As we talk about it, we all agree that in those days we felt like we could not be touched and we never got caught for fighting. We would always stop and blend in when the authorities came. As we have gotten older, and prayerfully wiser, we also agree that those days are gone. Now, if the need was really there, and we had no other option at that moment and needed to defend ourselves, well, it's like riding a bike, you never forget how. As life throws us options now, we have to be aware of some simple facts that make the situations a reality. One wrong move can change your whole life and the lives of those around you. None of us are perfect, only Jesus was perfect and even He faced some hard choices and obstacles and thank God He made the right ones. I have recently faced a moment of truth and had to make a very challenging choice. On one side, I could have chosen to satisfy my immediate "fix" and quenched an urge. On the other side, I could make a choice to walk in my salvation and have life. I made the choice to walk in my salvation and life. Why? That is the question I asked the whole night after it happened. Why? My past would have made a much different choice and the choice would have escalated across many others who were involved. However, I understand a few things about me and what I want out of life and I have enough failures that I don't need to help add to my failures when I have a clear cut choice in front of me. The situation that presented it self and put me in that moment of truth was a situation that caught me so off guard, I was not sure if it was real or a joke. However, I know the why? and all the reasons I made the choice of salvation. First and foremost, I am serious about God and my walk with Him. I have seen so many say that they are Christians and claim to be a follower of Christ, walking around saying that they will not others "block their blessing" all the while they are living in sin when they have the option to change it but don't and their actions create situations that cause harm to them and others around them. When I speak to others about Christ, I want to be sure that I am speaking what I am living. Leadership is being able to lead by example and show others it can be done. I also don't believe in others "blocking my blessing." Only I can block my own blessing by either my actions, or allowing others actions to do such. The other reason I did not jump at the chance to satisfy my own selfish need and get immediate satisfaction was because of my children. What example would I set for my kids if I engaged in actions that could potentially change the entire direction of both their lives? What good would it do to make a choice that could destroy every thing I have worked so hard to set up for them? The third reason is because of my wife who I can not imagine living without. If I made the choice to satisfy my urge, it could have possibly changed the direction God has us on in our marriage. There is a few other reasons that caused me to make the choice I did, but none are as important as God, my wife, and my family. Why are we so selfish that we will sacrifice the gifts that God has provided for us and risk losing everything we have, just to satisfy our own selfish needs? What ever that "Moment of Truth" is for you, what choice will you make? What options will you weigh in your mind and more importantly in your heart? What is greater to you? When me and my friends talk about the past and laugh about our actions and what we did before, we all agree 100% that God, our wives, and our families are never worth the risk to do what we used to. With those choices, the rewards are far greater then any action that may provide me with satisfying a selfish need or the need to run and tell others, "yea, I did that to him." I would much rather hear God say, "Yes, I have this for you."