Fencing begins with many choices, from the style of weapon you want to learn, to what brand of equipment you will purchase. Then even in the bout, you make many more small choices, how aggressive or passive to be, when to parry, when to repost, when to attack. Even a small choice can cause you to win or lose the match.

Not make a choice is in itself making a choice. If you are asked what you want to eat and you don’t answer you made a choice to let someone else decide for you. If you decide to not parry you are making the choice not to defend yourself. We need to be conscious of when we are making or not making choices.

Every action or inaction we make in our life is a choice. God gave mankind the ability to make choices from the beginning. In Genesis, God placed Adam and Eve in the garden and gave them a choice by placing the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” and requesting them to not eat from it, they both had a choice. After the fall of man in the garden, God still allows us to have choices.

…that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

Deuteronomy 30:19 ESV

He gave His people (Isreal) the choice to have life or death, and if we would know what to choose He gives us a hint “Choose Life”. We have these same choices, by not choosing Jesus you may have already chosen.

We make hundreds of choice a day, not all as weighty as accepting Jesus, but just the same choices of life or death. If you choose to eat a healthy lunch today, you are choosing life. If you choose not to excessively drink alcohol you are choosing life. If you choose to speak respectfully or honoring to or about your parents you are choosing life.

We can not live out of the fear of making the wrong choices. If we do live out of that fear we won’t make any choices and in turn make choice. If we make bad choice, and we will, God has given us repentance and forgiveness.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

We have to be careful not to make major choices out of just our limited knowledge and understanding. The Bible says in proverbs “…in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” Besides following the leading of the Holy Spirit we need the wisdom of people in our lives who are for us. People who will speak the truth in love, to increase you. Never follow another person knowledge or life experience if it is contrary to God word.

Application

• Be conscious that you are making choices
• Not making a choice is, in turn, making a choice
• Make it your goal to intentionally make choices