OPTIONS

Options

At any moment, we have unlimited options. Usually, we think we have only one or two or perhaps a few options - stop, move forward, turn left, turn right. But, the truth is that we have many options - turn around, go up, go down, turn circles, and more. 

Just think about what you can do right now - stand up, sit down, sing a song, paint a picture, scream bloody murder, do handstands (or attempt to do handstands), get in your car, take a walk, read a book, go to the kitchen, go to the bathroom, go to bed. 

We do have unlimited options, but only one choice. We can only take one step at a time and each step brings us to a whole new set of unlimited options. We are constantly making a choice from our options all day long. 

There are benefits and consequences to each choice that we make. When we choose to marry, we get the joy of being committed to one person for life's journey. But, we eliminate every other person in the world as a partner. We find joy in eating that piece of cake, but that choice might bring diabetes or the need for new pants as our waist expands. We can buy that huge SUV, but we pay dearly at the pump. 

Choosing the interstate can get us there faster, but we miss all of the beauty and culture along the back roads. We can choose the serenity of the back roads, but we might miss the ballgame, or party, or concert because we took the road least traveled. 

Some choices have immediate blessings but long term consequences. We can rejoice at buying the latest and greatest thing, but the debt can be costly. Some blessings are delayed but bring long term benefit. We might want that double latte now, but putting that money daily into a savings account might help us be able to retire early later on. 

If we are not careful, we will choose to seek immediate gratification and suffer later because we did not put something away for a rainy day. Or, we will put all that we have in a rainy day fund and never enjoy the fruits of our labors. 

And carefully making choices based on what appears to be the best option might lead us to a cliff or quicksand. Until we complete the journey, we will not know whether or not we made the best choices. Sometimes, we need to make difficult choices to go through the dark valleys in order to eventually be able to see the beauty of the meadow or the sunrise from the mountain top. 

That is why it is best to choose something or someone that will help guide us. Joshua said to the people of Israel "Choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." The Psalmist said "the Lord is my shepherd." Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life." The wise person will not listen to the get rich schemes of humankind, but the wise person will seek God and follow along the path that God's lays out. 

Making The Lord our shepherd is the best option. The Wright Word for today.