“ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do?’” 
Luke 12:17a

 
It’s true–choices do have consequences. In Jesus’ parable of the rich fool, the man in this story chose not to involve God in his decisions. Notice how he responds to the wealth he accumulated: “He thought to himself”; “This is what I’ll do…”; “I’ll say to myself…”  Did you catch all the first-person pronouns? Not once did the rich fool ask God what he should do with all his newly accumulated wealth. He chose not to inquire of God in his choices. In doing so, he forgot that God is always involved whether we want Him to be or not.
 
Growing up I remember my father telling me, “Son, the boy who only does what he wants to do and not what he ought to do will never become the man he was meant to be.” How do we teach our grandchildren to make choices in life that are about doing what we ‘ought’ to do because these are choices that will determine the kind of man or woman God wants them to be?  We teach first by the choices we make. If we go through life making important decisions without involving God, what message do we communicate about the importance of God’s wisdom in life? The rich fool thought he could choose his course without God’s input, but God had other plans.
 
We talk a lot about freedom in this country, especially at this time of year. Yet freedom is not about choosing to do whatever I want to do. It’s choosing to what is right according to God’s good and perfect will. It’s choosing to spend wisely during our retirement years and using the resources God has given us well. How we spend our time and resources will reveal whether God is involved in our choices or not. 

In the end, God will always be involved. The question is whether our choices deliberately acknowledge His involvement or not. Selfish choices lead to destructive consequences. Loving, Spirit-led choices lead to life. It’s your choice…and what you and I choose will speak volumes to our grandchildren about our heart that will very likely impact theirs as well.
 
GRANDPAUSE: “From the moment we rise until the time we go to sleep, life is all about choosing. And it’s the collection of little, daily choices that eventually reveal what our “big” choices are. Choosing to follow Christ in the little things is evidence that we have given Him our whole heart.” –David Jeremiah