Walking into the convenience store in the early morning reveals much about our world — scores of people with a mission to fill cups with their favorite flavored coffee, grab a donut or two, and maybe a pack of cigarettes to start the day. Multitudes of people are facing multiple choices – many times with few good options, often leading to less than the best in selections.

A recent illness has left me in front of a television with many program options – sports, news, talk shows, reruns, movies – so many choices, yet so void of redeeming content. After watching for some time and feeling empty, I turn off the TV. Moving on to the internet, I click my homepage; a plethora of choices appears before me – weather, news, search, travel. . . choices full of data and information. Am I a better person for having these many options and choices? It is very easy to become caught in the trap of choosing between so many choices that we waste our time and minds.

Spiritually we often find ourselves in the same dilemma with multiple choices with which to fill our minds – books to read, tapes for listening, magazines to review. Are we made better by more? None of these items are wrong in themselves, and indeed, often provide entertainment, information, and/or inspiration. The question? Are we choosing the best? The Apostle Paul reminds us that quality is much more important than quantity when he says,

". . . whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. . . ."                 (Philippians 4:8-9 NIV)

This week, let us focus on our choices, looking for the true, the noble, the right and the pure!

 

Sharing the journey with you,

Bob Snyder