Who or What, Really, Governs Your Daily Choices

Who or what, really governs my daily choices? This question may be one of the most important questions we can ask of ourselves. It demands that we take time and dedicate sufficient energy to search the depths of our own inner self-awareness. It asks us to look at what might be the most powerful drivers behind our daily choices, both big and small. To answer this profoundly important question requires both great courage and brutal honesty on our part. The proper environment for confronting this question is in the silence and solitude of prayer.

This question has great significance and importance for we Christians. To put it another way, Who, or what, really, is our God? Who or what moves us the most in our daily lives? If we wish to be disciples of Christ there can only be one answer to that question. God is God and we are not, nor is anything else in this world. But worldly temptations are in our face every day. We are aware that we live in an atheistic and secularist age, where large numbers of people no longer believe in God, or in his wisdoms for us. And, if we are honest with ourselves, these worldly tendencies can often be a source of temptation for us. We are not untouched by them. G.K. Chesterton, in observing this phenomenon way back in the early 20th century wrote, “When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.”

Jesus himself was tempted by Satan with the false promises and lies of worldly temptations. At the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, we are told of Jesus’ encounter with the devil during his 40 days in the desert before starting his public ministry. The devil tries to tempt Jesus with very recognizable, worldly logic. Satan tempts Jesus by trying to get him to focus on his physical hunger, “turn these stones to bread” (Mt 4:3). Then, he tempts Jesus with the worldly impulse or inclination to pride, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down [from the Temple heights]” (Mt 4:6). And, finally, Satan appeals to the worldly desire for power and wealth, “All this I can give to you, if you will bow down and worship me” (Mt. 4:9). To which Jesus responds with: “The Lord, your God, shall you worship, and him alone shall you serve” (Mt. 4:10). This reminds me of Satan’s continuing efforts to tempt Jesus away from his mission to the cross through Peter’s effort to rebuke Jesus saying, “Never, Lord! This shall never happend to you!” (Mt. 16:22). Jesus responds: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (Mt. 16:23).

I don’t know about you, but when I read the scriptures, they often function like a mirror to me. In them I often see my failings, my improper desires, my weaknesses in the face of worldly temptations. But I am also presented with the truth of God’s infinite love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. And it becomes very clear to me that I have a very profound choice before me. To which of these will I give my fullest dedication, attention, time and energy? Will I choose to pursue my various lowly, physical hungers? Will I chase after my self-referential desires for power, or money, or fame? Will I bend to my fears and pursue my own illusive safety at the cost of my own integrity or the suffering of others? Or will I choose willingly and joyfully to bend my will to the will of God in all things?

“Those who choose other gods increase their sorrows,” Ps. 16:4. Is this not evident in the daily headlines, at every level, political, social, economic. Is it also possible that many of the causes for the divisions in the Church, the Body of Christ, can be attributed to personal prejudices and pride? Chesterton’s observation seems to have been prophetic. The secular world of today has willfully tossed God aside, and pursues a multitude of many gods: money, power, fame, and sensuality among them. Instead of finding happiness, the secular world is experiencing a growing and profound despair marked by things like abortion and euthanasia, the decline of the family, the growing sense of isolation seen in young people who are searching for happiness, or attempting to escape their own despair through the blue-lit screens of their phones and various devices.

As Christians, this choice is before us every day. Do we choose to be governed by God and his wisdom? Or do we choose to be governed by the self-proclaimed wisdoms of the world? Do we accept the reality that God is God and we are not? Do we really believe that real, true, lasting happiness can only be found in our conscious, willing and joyful pursuit of God’s will? In reality, it is only in God that we can find the happiness our eternal souls desire. “I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods beside me” (Exodus 20:2-3). Do we trust in God’s loving will? Do we believe that his ways are better than ours, that his wisdom is greater than ours? Then let us follow his will, his way, his wisdom, with humble and joyful hearts. Let him teach us to love him and one another with our whole minds, hearts, and souls. In him alone is joy, forgiveness, mercy, justice, and the love that can make us whole.