The God of Choice

Introduction

There are few things in life sweeter than a baby. There are few things more demanding than a baby. Babies need almost constant attention. They need to be fed, changed, bathed, held, played with, talked to and it is an demanding cycle. Babies are not, however, selfish. These are things that they need which we as parents must provide or else the baby will not grow and thrive. But at about age two, the needs of children turn into demands. “Mine” or “no” are often spoken by the two year old learning to develop their sense of self. And as the child learns more words, the short sentences take on an understanding that the child’s view of self is central to life.

Parents begin working very hard to curtail this overstimulated sense of self. We try to teach our children to share. We try to teach them that others in the home must be considered. And the child’s world expands to include more than just the self. Hopefully, the world begins to look bigger. And as the child grows into adulthood, one truth is apparent—we learn that the world is bigger than what I experience, and yet we can never separate ourselves from our experiences. Let me illustrate that. Ever gone out to shop for a Christmas gift and ended up buying something for yourself? What happened? Our wants or needs took priority over the planned purchase. We thought about ourselves even though we had planned to think of someone else. What does this mean? We have a hard time not thinking of ourselves before others. Its most negative term is selfishness. Positively we call it a good self-image. On the spectrum of life they are not far apart.

Current buzzwords of our culture are diversity, tolerance, choice, and pluralism—all typically painted with positive strokes. All branches which are part of the same tree—selfishness. Our culture values being able to choose. Choice is a part of life. Choice in and of itself is not bad. But the area of choice highlights some of the areas in our culture which ethically demand our attention. In the abortion arena, our culture supports the woman’s right to choose. In later life, our culture supports the patient’s right to choose life and death. In the area of sexuality, our culture supports the right to choose a sexual lifestyle. Diversity says all choices are valid. Tolerance says that all choices are to be accepted. Pluralism says that all choices can live together in harmony. And at the core of all these values is selfishness.

We are talking about ethics which Christians hold. Last week Dwight reminded us that the basis of our ethics comes from God. We take up that same thought today. We are going to compare this culture’s basis for ethics with God’s view. Such a comparison is challenging and demanding.

The First Expression of Choice

In Genesis 3, Eve is tempted to disobey God. But the temptation is not that direct. Notice in verse 5 that Eve is offered a choice. She is offered the possibility of being like God. In fact, the promise is that she can be the same as God in terms of knowing good and evil. The temptation is subtle. The temptation is to see yourself as more. Reach your full potential she is told. The only way to be the best you can be is to elevate yourself. And here is the kicker, because God knows this is true, he has been keeping this from you. God hasn’t been fair to you. He has mistreated you. Who needs God when you can be wise. “And Eve saw that the fruit was desirable for gaining wisdom.”

At the core of sin is selfishness. The belief that we can be more. That somehow God has not been honest with us. This is not ambition. This is selfishness. This is seeing oneself as being God. Choice is when we elevate our views above all others. Let me illustrate. We have choices all the time. Not all choices are ethical choices. Whether to eat fish or chicken is not an ethical choice. However, when presented with an ethical choice, what are the criteria used to make that decision? Somewhere in the process of choosing, we will think about what we want; we will consider what is best for us; we may even list the advantages and disadvantages of a decision based upon self.

Very simply selfishness is when I put myself ahead of yourself. Such a view is not new. In fact, if we aren’t careful such a view finds its way into our thinking. What seduced Eve is what seduces us. She thought about how the fruit would taste to her, how wise it would make her, and how much she could achieve. She never thought of doing evil. In fact, this is what makes the temptation so overwhelming—she thought she was doing good. Her motivation was self-interest, self-satisfaction, and self-assertion. Totally absorbed in what she could get out of eating the fruit, Eve set aside what she ought to do. The only real concern was what she wanted. She threw out obedience for a moment of happiness. She trampled love, loyalty, and trust so that she could feel good about herself. Her decision was self-centered. And from that day on, we all take the same journey.

At some point in time we like Eve decide to do what is best for us. We throw out obedience, love, loyalty, commitment, and trust for what we believe is good for me. Just like in the garden, choice appeals to what will please us. We will even make an invitation to Christ based on what he can do for us. Is that how Christ appealed to people? Let’s turn our attention to scripture and discover the tone of scripture.

Not I But Christ

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:33). Jesus teaches that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 18:14).

Paul writes, “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:13-14). He exhorts us to “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Romans 13:14). To every one of us, Paul says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3). His instruction is clear: “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others” (1 Corinthians 10:24).

The Philippians are told to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4). Paul himself declares, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

The foundation of Christian identity is captured in Galatians: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). And Paul reminds us, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).

The intent of scripture is that we are to deny ourselves and find meaning and purpose in Jesus. We are to put self away and find salvation in Jesus. The intent of scripture is that the glory and focus of our lives is to be on Jesus not ourselves. Christian ethics is not about what will please us but what will please God. The choice we are faced with when it comes to important ethical choices is will we set self at the center of our hearts or will we push self aside and discover God’s desire.

Let me summarize it this way. Live life like you need God. If we will live life like we need God then our desires are pushed behind us. God gets the glory rather than ourselves. What becomes important is not what we want but what God wants. Our ethics reflect him and his will instead of our own selfish desires. All the glory goes to God. It isn’t about what we want, but what pleases the One who has changed us and saved us.

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