Your future well-being swings on the hinges of two choices.

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8.

We all come across hundreds of choices every single day, don’t we? When you go to shopping malls you will see hundreds of options there. You want a shoe- many choices. You want to eat – many choices. You want clothes –many choices. Our recently installed modern instant coffee machine at work has many flavors of coffee and tea. You name what flavor, you got it. You check out an online store- you can spend hours there looking at different items and several choices.

The scripture has hundreds of examples of people’s choices and how they impacted the rest of their lives. In a nutshell and from a broader perspective, we come across mainly two choices on a daily basis. Either we lean on the flesh or on God’s Holy Spirit. All other hundreds of choices we make a swing on the hinges of the above two.

Adam did not take God’s command seriously. When an opportunity was presented by the devil to disobey, he silently allowed himself to be disobeyed, which resulted in God’s curses on Adam and Eve, their posterity, and this earth. Cain allowed his natural bend of jealousy.  It destroyed his future by becoming a murderer of his brother living his life away from the care and presence of the loving God. He had the opportunity to turn to God in repentance. In fact, God came to talk to him. He did not choose repentance to make things better.

In contrast, Noah stood for the truth of the word of God, although the whole world mocked and ridiculed him because he preached an impending judgment of God on people’s wickedness and rebelliousness. He prepared an ark for his and his family’s salvation because no one else would listen to his preaching. He chose to stick with what God asked him to do. That was his choice. He and his family were saved from worldwide destruction.

God talked to Abram and asked him to follow Him by breaking apart from his pagan family and culture. He became the father of many nations and received unconditional promises that made him unique in history. Moses chose to leave the fleeting pleasures of being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He wanted to associate with His fellow Jews and help them. The immediate result was a few errors and sufferings for several years. However, once he was trained properly in God’s curriculum, he was called for a lifetime of ministry to fulfill God’s plan for Israel’s nation.

Joseph had a choice to obey God or yield to the temptation to sin against God. However, He chose to live in purity and honor God. David had a choice to fight against King Saul’s evil intentions or wait for God’s calendar and time. He chose the latter one and became the great king and a prophet in whose earthly lineage the promised seed of the woman –Jesus-who would destroy the devil came into this world.

Some of the choices had drastic consequences. Adam’s choice led his posterity into alienation from God. Esau’s choice resulted in losing his birthright for great future blessings. Saul’s choice led to losing his kingship and his and his family’s lives. Solomon’s choice led to the breaking up of the nation Israel into two –southern and northern kingdoms. Jude’s choice led him to hopelessness and suicide. Hymenaeus and Alexander’s choices led to the shipwreck of their faith life and ended up in Satan’s hands. (1 Timothy 1:19-20).

You see, God cares about our choices. Although He gave us free will to make choices, he expects us to make good choices that would not destroy our future. I understand sometimes we would make the wrong choices. When it happens, agree with God in prayer that you made the wrong choice and seek His forgiveness and help to rectify the issues. Some of the consequences may not be reversible in this world. However, with repentance, God would continue helping you amid the bad consequences and enjoy God’s love and kindness. Remember, God favors and helps a repentant heart. His grace would not be available when non-repentance is the nature of our life. When you make mistakes and make wrong choices, God in his love wants to talk to you to forgive you and guide you again. However, only a fool would disregard God’s calling for repentance. King Saul was a fool because he never showed a sign of repentance.

Our insight says, do not find fault with God. Do not try to mock God when we face the consequences of bad choices. A man reaps what he sows. What you sow is important. If one sow to please your flesh and its desires, he or she will eventually reap destruction. However, if you sow to please the Spirit of God, you will reap blessings and eternal life. Whom would you serve? Flesh or God’s Spirit and His word. Your future well-being swings on the hinges of two choices-choice by flesh or choice leaning on God’s Spirit.

Your capacity to choose by God’s Spirit begins with the choice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, whom He sent for your forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. This is the first choice that makes other choices by God’s Spirit possible. When you accept and believe in Jesus Christ, God gives His Holy Spirit inside you to indwell in you,  who will help and guide you to make good choices. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit, we are left with only one mechanism- the flesh, which can lead to destruction.

“Father in heaven, I want to lean on your Spirit to make choices. I understand how important my choices are. It can make or break me. I want your Holy Spirit in my personal life. I know I am a sinner. Please forgive my sins. I believe Jesus died for my sins, was buried, and rose again. I accept Him as my savior. Thank you for granting me your Holy Spirit inside me to live on this earth to fulfill your plans. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”