“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” 1 Kings 3:9

‘Every time you make a choice you are turning the central point of you, the part…that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature.”’ C. S. Lewis

“One of the most moving stories in the New Testament is recorded in all four Gospels. Jesus was having a meal at the home of Simon the Leper. Many people were there, including some of the disciples, when a woman barged in uninvited and poured expensive perfume on Jesus. Shock and anger swept through the room like a tidal wave. “How dare you waste such expensive perfume,” the guests chided. “You could have sold the perfume for more than a year’s wages and given the money to the poor!” (Michael Yaconelli. Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith pp. 114-115).

Life is about choices – every day will present the opportunity for each one of us to make a small or a significant choice – choices like “What will I eat for breakfast?” or “Which college will I attend?” We always hope that the choices we make will be guided by wisdom and experience, but that cannot always be the case. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden said, “There’s a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you.”

Over the course of a lifetime, the choices we make will define the kind of person we have become. The woman who approached Jesus and anointed him with the perfume made her choice – and what she did that day has made her famous beyond anything she could have imagined.

David had his faults, and his bad decisions, and though he is remembered as one of the great leaders of G-d’s people, he could have been even greater had he made better choices at critical times in his life.

Today, you will have many choices. How will you spend some money today? How will you help someone today? Where will you see G-d active in your life? Will you take the time to show your neighbor you love them? Remember the choices you make every day, make you.

Pastor Dave