#195 – Choices

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It was a beautiful summer’s day and the lure of a bike ride was irresistible. So off we scampered through the nearby estate and along the canal banks until mid-morning – or to put it another way – ‘coffee time’. Yes, we stumbled across a Starbucks and rested our legs for a short interval. We read one of their brochures which described the choices confronting you when you enter their premises. Coffees in all shapes and sizes with skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole or soy milk. Macchiato, espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte – you name it they provide it. The brochure made the proud boast that Starbuck provide a staggering ‘86,000 different drink combinations – all customised to your own individual needs’.

It made me ponder on the choices we face every day of our lives. As we walk past coffee shops like Starbucks we have the choice of a drink which could threaten our cholesterol level but tantalise our palette or something more wholesome but less tasty like peppermint tea. As we read our newspapers or glossy magazines we make choices about where to go on holiday, often mesmerised by the all-too-appealing photographs which rarely live up to their promise once you get there. Likewise we choose which car to drive, which house to live in, which candidate to vote for, which mode of transport to use on our way to church or the shops – and so it goes on.

Do we really value then freedom we have to make choices and what are the driving forces in our lives which make us choose one thing rather than another. In the big decisions of life like who to marry or which career to follow, a snap decision can lead to massive regrets. We need to look inside ourselves, and outside ourselves to those who we trust and can offer wisdom and guidance out of love before making the wrong choice.

The Bible is a book which is full of choices. I think of Nehemiah who, on hearing of the desolation of his homeland, turned to God and chose to say ‘sorry’, not only for his own sins, but for the sins of his people (Nehemiah 1:7). He could have shrugged his shoulders and said to himself, ‘Oh well, life must go on’. Instead he chose to do something about it.

Likewise in the parable which has come to be known as ‘The Prodigal Son’, the young, wayward lad reflects upon his plight in the pig sty and how much he is missing his home comforts that he decides to go back an say ‘sorry’ to his father, and to God. This choice led to real freedom, not the pseudo freedom offered by loose living and fine-weather friends.

Jesus, too, made some stark choices. At pivotal moments in his life he chose solitude. At the start of his ministry, straight after his baptism, he disappeared into the desert, wrestling within his own mind about the nature of the ministry before him. As the threat of arrest looms ever larger he withdraws to the Garden of Gethsemane and wrestles with the biggest choice of all – whether to call upon divine power and escape execution or to choose the path of obedience and ‘offer his life as a ransom for many’, enduring the cross in the process.

The biggest choice we make in life was summed up in the time of Elijah when he challenged the Israelites by saying, ‘How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him’ (1 Kings 18:21). Another verse of similar magnitude is found in Jeremiah when the Lord says, ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls’ (Jeremiah 6:16). What we may find staggering is the sentence that follows – look it up and read it for yourself.

There isn’t time in this bulletin to reflect upon the fact that the vast majority of people in the world have very little choice on the major issues in life. For them the only choice is to drink water – providing the supply hasn’t run out. Many see their lives destroyed by war and bloodshed as their homelands are ravaged. Many face an uncertain future as they struggle with terminal illness.

So, as we walk, or cycle past Starbucks or other appealing watering holes, let us reflect upon the freedoms we have, and often take for granted. Let us choose wisely, not simply satisfying our own desires but caring also for the needs of those around us. I love the chapter in M. Scott Peck’s classic ‘The Road Less Travelled’ entitled ‘Delaying Gratification’. In it there is the case of a business woman who could not settle in her work and lacked focus. In a flash of inspiration, Scott Peck asked her, ‘do you like cake?’ She replied positively to which he followed up with the question, ‘which part of the cake do you eat first?’ Her reply was, ‘the icing’

In our everyday working lives we can be hindered by choosing to do the simpler, more appealing jobs first and delaying the harder, and more challenging jobs until later, sometimes even postponing them altogether. Instead we should get the worst jobs out of the way first and look forward to the more pleasing and fulfilling tasks afterwards.

So, make your choices wisely – and be thankful that you can.