Making good choices . . .

 

1 Kings 11; Psalms 92–93; Ezekiel 41; Philippians 2

King Solomon had everything: great wealth, heritage, privilege and the promises of God, but he had a great weakness: women.

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. (1 Kings 11:1–3)

His father David was also blessed with much, but he had a problem with women too, at least one of them. When Bathsheba caught his eye, he forgot God’s commands and took her, then had her husband killed. The difference between this man and his son? Solomon was greatly blessed but allowed God’s gifts to dominate his affections without repentance. David realized his sin. His heart-felt confession is recorded in Psalm 51.

God gave abundantly to Solomon but even though he had great wisdom he didn’t do well with temptation and set his affections on forbidden things such as multiplied horses and multiplied women. He was qualified to live life successfully but chose not to do so. The point is that a godly life does not come automatically with the possession of wisdom — we must apply that wisdom to our lives. That is, spiritual success depends not only on insight but also on choices.

How can a person make good choices in the face of overwhelming temptation? Pat answers abound, such as “run” or “stay out of those places” but as Jesus said, the problem is with the heart, not our location: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” (Matthew 15:19) Dealing with the heart means having a new one installed. God promised it:

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:26–27)

Only through faith in Christ, does God change hearts so that we can love and obey Him. Because of this incredible ‘new birth’ we have the capacity to choose rather than give in to sinful and selfish desires. Making good choices involves my will plus the power of God. He tells me to think like Jesus because He has given me the mind of Jesus. I’m to look out for others rather than focus on me. I’m also to:

“ . . .  work out my own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in me, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that I may be blameless and innocent, a child of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom I shine as light in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” (Philippians 2:12–16, personalized)

In ‘working out my salvation’ I’ve discovered a very strong aid to making good choices; praise. It is impossible to sin and praise God at the same time so I start the day with praise and try to heed this advice:

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, (Psalm 92:1–2)

APPLY: Grumbling, questioning, giving into temptation fade into the background when I am thanking God, singing praises, declaring His love for me and remembering His faithfulness. Praising God also humbles my heart because it focuses on His worth and my failure to measure up, but also on His grace to give me a new heart and new life with the ability to choose His goodness rather than go the way of temptation. The enemy is strong with his lies and schemes to sidetrack me from this, but God keeps on working in my will and actions, giving me many reasons to be thankful and to simply trust Him rather than complain, want more, or have to have answers to all the puzzles of life. Thank You, Jesus for loving me.