OffsideSample

EVERY CHOICE LEADS SOMEWHERE

Surely, the world has changed so much that people don’t allow children to do this anymore, but some of my favorite childhood memories were wandering around the woods in the middle of the night as a Boy Scout. I know that sounds weird to those who have never been, but we would practice navigating using coordinates and compasses in these night courses that the leaders would create (I know, I couldn’t possibly sound older right now). You would start somewhere, then have to set your compass bearing and walk the prescribed distance by counting your paces. Then, once you arrived at what you hoped was the correct point, you would set your next bearing, walk the right amount of paces to spot number-two, and continue the process. Here’s the potential problem. If you messed something up along the way (especially on the first bearing), you could find yourself way off course by the end. Because if you take your next bearing and walk your paces from the wrong spot, you’d end up at an even wronger spot for step 2. Then you’d be even farther off by step 3, and by the end of the course, instead of being back at camp, you’d be lost somewhere in the woods and have to try to use your clearly flawed navigational skills to get back to where you were supposed to be. 

Here's why that story is still relevant in the age of GPS and phones that always know exactly where you are: our lives can be just like that compass drill. Think of every step in that adventure as a choice in your life – if you make a choice that is a little bit off, okay, you’re still kinda close to where you wanted to be. But then you make a second choice based off that first choice, and now you’re a little further off-course. Then choice after choice leads you ultimately to somewhere totally different than where you wanted to be. Every single choice we make leads somewhere, and if you stack enough choices on top of each other, it can lead you in the absolute opposite direction. 

So, the question for today is...where are your choices leading you? Are you heading towards the life you want to live? Are they leading you closer to (or further away from) Jesus? Individually, the little choices and tiny compromises might seem like no big deal, but those little choices add up over time, so we have to approach each choice carefully. Today, spend a little time talking to God about your choices. Ask him if you’re heading in a direction he doesn’t want you to go. Then, when you face a new decision (which happens multiple times pretty much every day), pause for at least a second to consider what choice would lead you closer to Jesus. If you’ll do that with each and every decision, you’ll end up so much closer to where you wanted to be.