If you could go anywhere, where would you go? If you could have anything, what would it be? “Life is like a box of chocolates,” said Forrest Gump, “You never know what you’re going to get.” Our lives are the result of a series of choices. So be careful what you choose.
Sometimes if we stay close to those who stay close to God, we may experience some of the blessing. Lot was drinking out of the saucer of Abram’s overflowing cup. Uncle Abram offered him first choice of land and location. Abram would take the leftover land in the other direction. Are we surprised that Lot chose the fertile garden of the Jordan valley? Sodom and Gomorrah had not yet been destroyed. Lot took the whole plain and headed east. Meanwhile, Abram stayed in Canaan.
I know the grass may look greener on the other side of the fence, but what if it is astroturf? Lot needed to do more research. Pitching his tents towards Sodom brought him closer to the wickedness of people who were sinning greatly against the Lord. Sometimes if we stay close to those who are far from God, their choices become our choices.
Jeremiah wrote, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’ But you said, ‘We will not walk in it’” (Jeremiah 6:16). Ralph Waldo Emerson captured this reality: “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
In another famous movie, as the archaeologist/adventurer Indiana Jones reached the Holy Grail, he had to discern which of the multitude of cups was the authentic article. The ancient guide said, “You must choose. But choose wisely.” Someday, an opportunity may come to us disguised as a choice. Definitely, choose wisely.
