CONSIDER YOUR WAYS
Then Choose Wisely

By Jay Pearson

 

From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is full of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding about the Father God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, mankind, you and I. Also written are examples of our choices and the consequences of those choices, good and bad. Consider your ways and choose wisely to reap the blessing and avoid the pitfalls of bad choices. You and I have much to do with what we receive in this world. In Galations 6 it says whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap.

Much of life’s turmoil could be avoided by simply considering our ways and choosing wisely. We are responsible for our choices. The Lord has provided us with our own personal guide in the holy spirit to guide us toward right choices in the Way. When we veer from that Way and do not heed the Holy Spirit to change direction and repent we find ourselves wandering aimlessly. Consider your ways and choose wisely.

It’s not just youth that makes decisions without considering the consequences. I’m 71 years old next week and I do it all too often. I don’t think I’m all that special of a case. If you can recall a bad choice you made you might agree there are times you’ve made decisions without considering your ways. I believe we all do.

In considering our ways I want to consider the future, the present, and the past. This three-part study will begin with a look at the future.

Considering our Future:

Let us look at the parable from Jesus about the unjust steward in Luke 16.

Luke 16:1-7:
1: And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2: And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3: Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4: I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5: So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6: And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7: Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

Take note of the next verse in Luke.

Luke 16:8:
And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

The unjust steward was wise about looking out for his future and preparing for it. We as children of God need to look past our noses and circumstances before us and look to Jesus and to our eternal future waiting for us, considering our ways and choosing wisely.

May we follow the Lord in obedience, loving one another and reflecting his gift of grace. Oh in that day that we might hear, “Well done good and faithful steward.” Life is bigger than the moment. Love is greater than the universe. Take hold of your part.

Considering our Present:

For part two let us consider our present and where we are functioning in life and witnessing the Lord at work in our life. I want to examine the scriptures in Haggai chapter 1.

Haggai 1:1-7:
1: In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,
2: Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built.
3: Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4: Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
5: Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
6: Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7: Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

We can become so self absorbed in our daily lives with the blessing of God all around us that we attribute the blessings to our own efforts. When things are going good we think, “I’ve got this, self” until something goes wrong. Then we consider and become very thankful remembering from whom our help and blessing come. “Lord remember me?”

Here in Haggai the people were totally absorbed in serving self. Their houses were covered inside and out while the Lord’s house lay in waste. Sometimes we want to wait till everything is perfect then we can act like Christians Monday to Saturday. It is easy to be Christian conscious on Sunday when you are being watched by other Sunday Christians.

When you read the rest of this chapter you’ll find the people repented and obeyed the Lord receiving in the present day blessings and future promises. 

While considering our ways let’s look to the joy set before us and our eternal habitation with God. Let’s continue in our present day lives in thankfulness and obedience. It’s a balance of service future and present.

Considering our Past:

Now considering our past keeps us focused on where we came from and where we don’t want to return. My worst day on the fringes of being in Christ is way better than when I was without Christ in me and my deliverance. (I say worst day and fringes because in Christ there are no worst days. It’s only when I flounder on the fringes hanging on to some sin I haven’t divorced that I realize my worst day.)

I would like to look in Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6:19-21:
19: I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20: For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21: What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

Our past looks pretty ugly since we have the mind of Christ to perceive it. It is a stark reminder of where we don’t want to return and of our deliverance. Yes the Lord has delivered us from darkness to light. May our members be instruments of righteousness.

Romans 6:13:
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

May our mouths be to speak, our minds be to think, our hands be to work and give, our feet be to go and serve, and our bodily strength to help others with there burdens, all these members in service to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Romans 6:22:
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Yes may we remember our past but live in the present with a view toward our future considering our ways and choose wisely. It’s easier and more efficient to do a thing right than to redo that thing that is wrong. Time is something worth wrestling with.

Romans 13:11:
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

Consider your ways and choose wisely. Amen.

 

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