Life is about choices. In Jesus’ parable of the rich fool, the man in his story chose not to involve God in his decisions. Notice his response to the great wealth he accumulated:

“He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do?…
This is what I’ll do…
I’ll say to myself…”  (Luke 12:16-19)

Do you see it? Not once did the rich fool ask God what he should do with this newly acquired extravagant wealth. He forgot that it was God who blessed him with an abundant crop. Instead of building barns for himself, he might have chosen to use it to bless others. But he chose to not acknowledge God’s blessing or involve God in his choices about what to do with all that he had received. He lost sight of the fact that God is always involved whether we want Him to be or not.

So, how do we teach our grandchildren to make good choices in life? It starts with the choices we make. If we go through life making important decisions without involving God, why would we expect that our grandchildren would do anything differently? The choices we make about everything God has given us, and what He asks us to do communicate the value we truly place on God’s wisdom and purposes for us. The rich fool thought he could choose his own course without God’s input, but God had other plans. Do you ever do the same?

Freedom is not about choosing to do whatever I want to do, but choosing God’s perfect way.  Choosing how I use my retirement years—how I spend myself to bless others and fulfill God’s purposes for me—reveal whether God is involved in my choices or not. In the end, God will always be involved. The question is whether His involvement is because I choose to surrender to Him. It’s my choice, and your choice…and it is a choice that will speak volumes to our grandchildren about our heart.

Here are three practical ways to help you evaluate whether the choices you habitually make reflect the degree to which your life is rich towards God (vs. 21):

1. Take a careful look at your checkbook or online bank statement. If you showed it to Jesus, how do you think He would respond?

2. Examine the priority you give to basic spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible study receive in my daily schedule. Would you grandchildren know these have top priority in your life?

3. Log how much of your day/week is spent in front of the TV, the computer or other entertainment activities. How do these hours compare to the amount of time you spend yourself for the blessing of others?

I must be honest with you. I wrote this blog mostly for ME. It’s easy to tell you what you should do, but each of these three evaluation points has forced me to take a more honest look at my own life. I’ve discovered how easy it is to lose sight of things above and focus on things on earth. Jesus made it very clear in Luke 14:25ff that being a true disciple of His means putting in all on the altar. Even King David said he would not sacrifice anything to God that cost him nothing.

I share my thoughts on this because I have so much egg on my face in this matter of personal sacrifice. I too often value the things of this life more than my relationship to Jesus. Perhaps together, we can encourage each other to re-evaluate our choices so that we can show our grandchildren what is really means to be true follower of Jesus, rather than merely fans. Our grandchildren deserve to know the truth. Our choices do matter.

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