Articles
Choose This Day … but What a Choice!
Choose This Day … but What a Choice!
by Doug Kashorek
This is NOT about the election that takes place in a few days. Because “all have sinned and
[fallen] short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), the choice for each of us is about where we
will spend eternity. This election takes place once when we obey the gospel, yes, but we vote
continually, every moment of every day, when we choose either to follow ways that seem right to
us and lead to death (Proverbs 14:12) or to walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6). One is the wide path
of self-indulgence that leads to eternal destruction, the other the narrow path of self-control that
leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14).
When dividing the Promised Land, Joshua outlined this choice well, “Now therefore fear the
LORD and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served
beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the
LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region
beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell” (Joshua 24:14-15). The
choice was not centered in differing economic or security policies. Rather, for them as well as
us today, the vote you make is on moral policies with eternal ramifications.
The lures of “the gods … in whose land you dwell” are strong … but stem from a gratification of
self. They allow a broad license for licentiousness, and any resulting unwanted children are
sacrificed upon the altar of convenience. Any pretense of godliness is shrouded in a redefinition
of godly things and condemnation for those who insist on God’s standard for living faithfully.
We declare by living the other choice, however, that we will serve God “in sincerity and
faithfulness,” that Jesus is truth (John 14:6), and that His Word is truth (John 17:17) and not just
another opinion on the culture’s buffet of opinions. Joshua voted when he said, “But as for me
and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
