ESOCS Devotional 27 October 2024 – Consequences of Our Choices
MEMORY VERSE: “Young man, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it! Do all you want to; take in everything, but realize that you must account to God for everything you do. So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it, can make serious mistakes.” Ecclesiastes 11:9 -10 TLB
TEXT: ECCLESIASTES 11:9-END
Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
Walk in the ways of your heart,
And in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
God will bring you into judgment.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart,
And put away evil from your flesh,
For childhood and youth are vanity.
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Life presents many choices, the choices we make determine our future. The motto of the young is often that they want to be “footloose and fancy free”. This means that they want to be free from responsibilities and commitments. They have the mindset that they can do whatever they want because they are young. Their mentality: When one is young, sow wild oats; there is always time to mend your ways when you are old. But the Bible teaches us that there are consequences to our actions. The Teacher is going to remind us of this fact today.
Many of our troubles occur because we base our choices on unreliable authorities; culture (“everyone is doing it”), tradition (“we’ve always done it”), reason (“it seems logical”) or emotion (“it just felt right”). James, the brother of Jesus, reminded us about temptation. He told us that we will be happier if we do not give into temptation (James 1:12-15). The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome and told them that there would be wages to pay for the choices that they made. In other words, there are consequences to our choices. Paul wrote to them telling them that they had a choice: to sin or not to sin (Rom. 6:15-19).
I remind you of what Paul taught the Galatians about sowing and reaping (Gal. 6:7-8). Lest you feel that you are not up to the challenge of living a life that is holy and righteous before the Lord, I would remind you that we cannot in and of our own strength and ability accomplish this. Paul does remind us that we can do all things with God’s help (Philip. 4:13). When the believer is faced with a decision regarding a questionable matter, he should never proceed unless he has complete peace about it. If there is nothing wrong with it, then God is able to give complete peace.
My friend, it is so important for us to constantly remind ourselves of whose we are (God’s) and who we are representing (Jesus Christ) before making choices that will have lasting consequences on our lives. Live your life in such a way that you will have no regrets! Let principles make decisions.
- Endeavour at all times to make only the right decisions.
- Father, guide every decision I make in life, that I may never be wrong.
Further Reading: Isaiah 28:9-16; Luke 23:1-12; Ephesians 2:11-end
ESOCS Devotional 27 October 2024
