You Have A Choice
To a larger extent, our lives are influenced by the choices we make. Almost every thing that happens to us is as a result of the choice(s) we make at one time or the other.
You see, God so loved us that He gave us the ability to choose how we live our lives. He doesn’t treat us like servants but as Heirs.
Galatians 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
A servant has no say in the presence of his master, but we do have a say.
A large percent of our lives are within our control and therefore we can determine to a greater degree how we want our lives to end.
Sadly, many people take advantage of this liberty and live anyhow they want or like. They decide to go with whatever their flesh desire, forgetting that they have a “God-like” nature in them – which is the spirit, that naturally opposes the flesh.
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God knew that if we were to rely solely on our flesh, we will be doing a lot of things the wrong way and ultimately end up messing up our lives here on Earth.
Jer.17.9 – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Our flesh naturally tends to evil and this is why God gave us laws (the Bible) to follow so we can live our lives in the order it should be.
Apostle Paul said:
Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
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7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Naturally, our flesh and spirit are in constant opposition as long as we’re still in this Earth.
Now, this is where your choice comes into play; you can choose to allow your flesh or spirit to dominate you.
Read: Are you just a matter or do you matter?
When the flesh dominates, however you respond to anyone or anything will be the natural response of the flesh and so no one, including you, will find anything wrong with that response. But if you are dominated by the Spirit of God, your response most of the time will look foolish to the natural man who is dominated by the flesh. This is why the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But when the response is coming from the spirit, there is always that inner war and struggle to do the right thing.
When you are faced with great temptation, you have the choice to succumb to or resist it. Most times some people say “I had no choice….” Of course you did have a choice. You weren’t just patient enough to allow your spirit come up and respond. Like I said before, it is a struggle to involve the spirit with things that are of human nature. But this struggle only reduces with spiritual growth and progress. This is why you find that really born again and spiritually mature Christians do not find it difficult to consult and allow the Spirit of God to take over any situation they find themselves in.
Even in normal life situations, that are not spiritual, we need a whole lot of patience to do the right thing. For example, when something happens, that will naturally require you to get angry, a little bit of patience and constantly reminding yourself that “I have a choice” will help you calm down and prevent you from doing something that you’ll later regret. When someone slaps you on the face, your flesh immediately reacts and wants to respond at that moment. The pain you’d feel will want to make return the slap and make you feel justified.
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Why, of course, would someone intentionally hurt you, especially for no reason? It’s cruel and that person deserves to feel that hurt too right? But if really you choose to do the right thing, you’ll pause for a moment, think and say to yourself:
“is this revenge worth it?”
“Would it really solve anything?”
“Will it not be immature of me to do this?”
After that brief talk with yourself, you’ll feel much better and see the reason why not immediately reacting at that moment was the best thing to do.
No one would agree that they’re the reason for the wrong choices you you made, so in this new year, do not let people or situations determine your response but rather your response should come from who you really are or aspire to be.
Also, try to incorporate patience in whatever you do no matter how urgent it may seem, and you will find that you’ll be more in tune with yourself and you’d be living a much better life because in the end, you’ll be remembered only by what you have done, be it good or evil.
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