Key Bible Verse: "Let none … consider themselves immune, thinking, I am safe, even though I am walking in my own stubborn way." (Deuteronomy 29:19, 20). Bonus Reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20

If we accept our culture's twisted view that "all choices are created equal"—what's right for me isn't necessarily right for you—we're exalting choice above the Lord. To the extent that we adopt a "live and let live" philosophy toward right and wrong, we're worshipping the false god of choice. If we become inured to such things as obscenity, profanity, pornography, abortion, and prostitution because "people should be free to choose," we're bowing to this god.

If we willfully choose sin because we know God forgives, if we choose our church based on our preferences instead of a desire to please God, then we're "considering ourselves immune," to use Moses' phrase.

To quote journalist Marshall Allen, "Perhaps we have decided that our money is our own. We'll give a pittance to support our church, but decline to give sacrificially and keep the largesse to spend as we please. Maybe we're refusing to speak to a friend or family member after a conflict. God commands us to reconcile with one another, but we don't want to. In these cases, we're elevating our desires over God's design for our lives in a belief that we're free to operate as we please."

—Bob Hostetler in American Idols

My Response: One area in which I've considered obedience optional is …

Thought to Apply: The discipline of desire is the background of character.—JOHN LOCKE (British philosopher)

Adapted from American Idols (B&H Publishing, 2006) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, cause me to increasingly align my desires with Your good, pleasing, and perfect will.

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