Choosing What is Right Over What is Easy

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Over the last week or two, this theme keeps recurring in my life… in conversations, in the blogs I peruse, in my devotionals, and in the books I read. Of course you Harry Potter fans will recognize this as one of the big themes from the series. Harry is constantly faced with serious decisions where he must choose either the good or the easy. Just as Dumbledore tells Harry in chapter 18 of Chamber of Secrets, “It’s our choices, Harry, that show who we really are, far more than our abilities.” Over and over this truth is prominently displayed in the books. (There’s a whole chapter about this in Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger, a book highly recommend.)

One of my bloggy friends shared a story of when her husband stood for the right, lost his job, but was given an even better job less than 24 hours later. God rewarded his faithfulness. Another lady commented that the same thing had happened to her husband.

It’s amazing to me how often I’m encouraged to “just say that you’re ___________, ” and that blank is always filled with something that many would consider a “little white lie.” Where did that even come from? A lie is a lie. Lying to make a situation a bit easier for yourself is still lying; it’s still sin. Why do people encourage each other to do this all the time?

Here’s an example: I was planning on leaving work a little early the other day, but the two people I usually report to had already left early to attend a volleyball game which I was not planning on attending. When I told another lady that I was planning on leaving early, she said, “Just say that you went to the game.” I suppose it seemed harmless enough to her, but it would be a lie. Just a little bit of untruth, a little bit of sin, is the same thing as adding just a little bit of iocane powder* to your drink. You may not be able to see it, but it will definitely affect you!

It really is all about the choices we make.

*Fictional poison from The Princess Bride. The poison was colorless and odorless but deadly.