THE CHOICE IS YOURS

Genesis 6:9 “Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with him."

A recent newspaper article had this headline, “Bankruptcies Blamed on Easy Credit.” In this economy, a record number of 1,300,000 families filed for bankruptcy. The article quoted lawyers and credit counselors as saying that the availability of easy credit and a tendency to shirk responsibility had played a major role in many of these bankruptcies.

Have you noticed? Our society has produced people who ignore responsibilities and then blame others for their problems. “If I get into financial trouble, it’s not my fault; it’s because of easy credit. And the government needs to do something to protect me.”

Again, “If I develop lung cancer from smoking, it’s not my fault. I blame the cigarette companies, and they need to pay.” Or, “If I go into a rage and grab a gun and start shooting people, I’m not responsible. It’s in my genes, and I just can’t help it.” And again, “If I practice sexual perversion, it’s not my fault; God made me this way.”

As a society, we have become adept at blaming others. People are blaming heredity, environment, chemical imbalance, job pressures, poverty, prejudices, abuse, and anything else they can think of for their problems today.

But God teaches that as human beings we’re created higher than plants and animals, and we make choices. We can choose to be good or to be bad. We can choose to obey God or to disobey. You can be God’s man or God’s woman, if that’s your choice. But always remember, we’re responsible for the choices we make.

Our scripture offers a glowing report of Noah. He was a man that remained righteous during wicked times. He found favor in God’s sight. He was a righteous man. He was blameless among the people. Then it says that “…he enjoyed a close relationship with God.” I think that means he was so close to God that he always felt his presence. When he was walking, when he was standing, when he was sitting down – whatever he was doing, he was close to God.

But let me ask you. If you had taken a poll of the people in Noah’s day and asked them, “What do you think of Noah? Do you think he is good or bad? Do you think he is wise or stupid?” What kind of answers do you think you would have gotten?

I think people would have said, “Noah’s an eccentric. He’s bigoted. He’s intolerant. He’s politically incorrect. Noah just doesn’t fit in.” But yet he was a man who found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

You see, Noah understood that the choice to live right before God was his. He would not be forced by his surroundings to be a certain way. The choice was his alone. It was not a popular choice. He was ridiculed and shunned. Be he was a man who loved God.

When you read the story of Noah – be encouraged. You can make it. You can rise above the influence of wickedness that is around you today. You can, like Noah, live differently from what the world demands. It starts by committing to follow the will of God and enjoying a close relationship with him.