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Choices…

By April 6, 2017August 30th, 2022Devotional

It’s no secret that Janet and I are big TV watchers. I have even been known to refer to her as a “professional” when it comes to watching the screen. But the truth be told, we both enjoy sitting in front of the television after dinner and watching our programs while we discuss the events of the day, or just spending time in each other’s presence. To be sure, our cable bill is a little outrageous, but in defense of it, we do also get our internet from the same provider.

In my effort to be a more responsible steward of our resources, I decided to contact the cable company and see if there was a way that we could reduce our monthly costs without sacrificing some of the important (at least to us) channels that we really enjoy. After more than 30 minutes on the phone with customer service and receiving a full description of our various “packages”, it came down to the fact that for another $3.00 per month, we could receive another 21 channels – mostly in the area of movies.

That’s right – not a reduction, but a slight increase – boy, I’m sure that we would love all the additional “stuff” they were willing to add on to our service, but I was trying to cut the bill down a little – not increase it. However, admittedly, I have a weak spot for having as many choices as we can. And the one thing I have learned throughout the years is that I don’t mess with the cable service without speaking with two people – Janet, and our local cable guy – who Janet lovingly refers to as “our other son.” Yes, he has helped us through some rather difficult times. Each time we have moved, he has led the charge to transfer service. And if we have an issue, we know where to go. In fact, we trust him…

So after I hung up with customer service, I called him. He told me he would handle looking into everything and determining if there were any changes they could make for us – without sacrificing any of our beloved channels. This evening he showed up at the door and let us know that everything was handled to our satisfaction. That’s what I love about him – great service and a truly customer oriented kind of guy.

To be sure, I had been concerned about the “31 flavors syndrome” – that’s the concept of having too many choices and not being able to make a decision. There have been many articles written on this subject. When you only have a few choices – such as chocolate, strawberry or vanilla – it is much easier to make your selection without all the other “noise” of worrying about what you might be missing. Clearly, I was stuck today – always wanting a few more choices.

I’ll never be an expert in the field of cable television. So, at some point, it is necessary to trust someone else to make the best choices for our particular situation. And I have to be okay with that – because I wouldn’t be able to understand all the details anyway. That’s just the way it is. The more I thought about this, the more I realized that our faith is the same way.

Let’s face it – there are many choices out there. Many of them don’t include worshipping a living God, but they believe more in signs and symbols. From a Christian perspective, trying to understand the relationship of the members of the Trinity is far too complex for our feeble human minds. It is true that Jesus, through His teachings and the writings of the Bible, gives us insight into His Father and the Holy Spirit. We also have the writings of the Old Testament prophets, Moses and others. Yet with all this information, we still, this side of heaven, will never be experts on Jesus, God the Father or the Holy Spirit.

That means that the best thing to do is to learn what you can about God – preferably from someone who has spent a lifetime learning and studying. At some point, you will have to make the choice as to whether you can trust this person to teach you. Faith is not something that can be proven – at some point in the process, it is important to take a step of faith to cross over into truly believing. Scientific analysis won’t get you there. That’s where your faith journey takes over.

There’s no peace like the peace of resting in the love of Jesus. Our verse for the evening is from Paul’s letter to the Romans. He tells us, in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

My encouragement this evening is to trust in the choice of accepting Jesus. While it’s true that in this life, we won’t have all the answers, the choice to invest in a relationship with Jesus is the best choice you can make. My prayer is that you will “choose” to live with your palms “up” – even if you don’t know everything there is to know about our Savior, His Father and the Holy Spirit. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace… 

One Comment

  • Dave Toussaint says:

    Scott
    we all have to decide just who we are going to trust. You have made some great choices, and of course the one greatest choice, JESUS. It was great reading what you recommend and why.
    Thanks
    Dave

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