Every Jewish person would be familiar with a saying in the Talmud (a compilation of teachings and opinions of rabbis) that is as follows: “Whoever saves a single life saves a whole world.” There has been a very strong attempt to preserve the lives of Jewish people ever since the terrible years of the Holocaust. Yet, over two million babies have been aborted in Israel alone – and the millions of Jewish people living in the USA, Canada and other nations have added huge numbers to that score. Abortion is a hot topic of debate. Those who favor it are labeled “pro-choice.” That choice is whether they want to have the baby or not – it is not a choice the baby makes.

We all want to choose for ourselves

There is something inside each of us that proclaims that we do not want anyone telling us what to do. Children resist the teaching and direction parents give and all of us seem to want to decide for ourselves the course we will travel. We want to be independent. We can amass a number of excellent reasons for the decisions we make and cloak our choices with what we call freedom. We want to continue to live as we please, but not have to pay the price.

Lifestyles that include the gay community, religious cults and premarital and extramarital sexual encounters are among the areas in which we seem to think we have the right to make choices. Society labels some of these choices “progressive” or “modern” or “enlightened”, as though some great social breakthrough has just been made.

God wants us all to learn to make the right choices. He also wants us to understand that wrong choices carry penalties and right choices carry blessings. When He chose the nation of Israel, God gave them instructions and facts so that they could make right choices. He said, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

But many of us do not have the inherent wisdom to make good choices

We cannot expect that just any choice we make is acceptable. We are held responsible by God to make right choices even if we do not know all the correct information. We are still accountable for our sins even if we do not understand that sin and death are the penalties of our wrong actions (Romans 2:12). Man’s history is replete with choices that were driven by greed, vanity, emotions, financial gain, search for power and influence, self-gratification, jealousy and pleasure. The altars of convenience and irresponsibility beckon and all too often control our reasoning.

Choosing wisely as directed by biblical standards is different than just following the “cult of choice” so acutely popular today. The cult of choice is something forced on us by a number of human conditions that society imposes, by our inner misguided reasoning and longings that may be fueled by incomplete and immature thought patterns and by the simple vain insistence on doing things our own way. Humans seem to have a very strong drive to make their own choices whether they are good or bad, but then feel unfairly treated when there are penalties for those wrong choices.

People know smoking or habitual overeating is not good for your health. They demand that the medical society find a way to allow them to continue to do as they please and not pay the price. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) do not occur when people follow God’s instructions of one man and one woman as mates for life (Genesis 2:24). STDs are a result of multiple sexual partners. The choice to go this way results in scars and illness that robs a person of the possibility to really be happy. Recent cultural pressure shows a demand was made for billions of dollars to be spent in seeking a cure or preventative medicine for AIDS, but not to change the lifestyle that causes the disease.

The Bible tells of Eve seeing with her eyes that the forbidden fruit looked good (and the ability to become wise surely cannot be a bad thing) so she was deceived and then Adam made the choice to disobey God (Genesis 3:6-7). There were plenty of other trees from which they were given permission to choose to eat. No doubt there were varieties of fruits they could have eaten. It does not appear that the Garden of Eden was laden with bland and tasteless fruit, but this one tree in Eve's eyes was the only one with something better to offer than others.

One has to wonder what drove Adam and Eve to come near that tree when it was the specific one God told them never to touch or to eat from. Why are we like that? Why is it that when someone says “don’t touch”, we are intrigued and fascinated by that very object? Why do we choose to sample and taste even when we know based on very trusted sources that something may not be good for us?

God helps us choose wisely

Though the Bible is a trusted source that all can draw true life fulfilling wisdom from John 6:44, which lets us know that a person cannot respond fully to God unless God decides to call that person (open his or her mind to understanding). He then specifically teaches us wisdom and gives us knowledge to enable us to choose the right things. Isaiah 56:4-5 carries a promise from God to give an everlasting name within God’s house and walls to those who “choose what pleases Me.” That promised choice is good for us. It is like choosing to eat a nice meal or choosing rather to eat camel dung.

How can we make the bad choices we make? Why are the consequences for good and bad choices not clearly etched in our hearts? What ails us that we try everything else and when that fails, we call to God to rescue us? The ancient nation of Israel set the example of this sort of action time and time again. They turned from God towards all sorts of false and horrible gods. The pagan god Molech required children as living sacrifices. Some religions required a whole host of sacrifices that brought tears and sorrow to entire cultures for generations. Only when Israel was filled to the nostrils with filth and penalized by their own sins did they finally turn back to God. Even then, as history shows, that turning was only partial and only seeking relief so that they could get back to another round of idolatry and immoral living.

Ezekiel 20:13, Ezekiel 20:21-22, Ezekiel 20:32 show God’s condemnation of Israel. These verses and others show that Israel wanted to be like everyone else. Somehow they thought life was better when you are “free”, when you can make your own cultured influenced choices and not have anyone – most of all, the one true God and Creator of life lovingly leads you in what choices you must learn to make.

It is said, a wise man will acknowledge he knows nothing and needs to learn much. He will have the attitude of an apprentice who wants to learn a trade and who is willing to sit at the feet of the instructor and listen carefully. His awe and respect for the Almighty allow him to hear and listen as God teaches him of the way which he should go. Psalm 25:12-21 describe the attitude of humility and thankfulness that we ought to have toward Him who gave us life and offers to share eternity with us.

We must come to question the effect that “cult choices” have on our decisions and see the need to please God. We need to understand His way, agree with His terms and definitions and remember who we are. We need to renew the effort to serve Him every day and stay in touch through prayer. We need to develop the kind of character that will give us the strength to resist Satan and his ways (James 4:7) and to remain steadfast in the word of God. We need to remember the price that Jesus Christ paid to have our sins removed and never rebel against the God who loves us and who has designed us to be in our happiest state when we walk with Him.

We will always have choices to make. What we choose defines our character and tells God about us. As we learn to love Him, we will gladly choose to keep His commandments (1 John 3:3-4). It is your choice. What will you decide?

To learn how to live a life making wise choices, examine the fundamental principles interwoven in God’s timeless law by requesting our free Bible study aid The Ten Commandments.