Choose today whom you will serve

I needed to replace a toilet seat in the bathroom. In case you were wondering, toilet seats do not make good stepstools. I went to my local big-box hardware store to pick one up -- a simple errand.

I did not know and did not expect the big box hardware store to have more than 45 toilet seats. Forty-five!

Seriously, who needs 45-plus choices for a toilet seat?

I could choose between plastic or wood. Round, or long. Extra-long or extra-wide. Slow close, quick close, won't catch your fingers when it closes. Raising the question, why are your fingers on the toilet waiting for the seat to close?

With all of the options before me, there must have been some creature comforts I was missing. Were there people in the world indulging in restroom luxury while I was missing out slumming along with the basic plumbing and accessories?

There were two apparent matters with a plethora of choices before me. First, I was not going home and telling my wife I bought the extra-wide seat. Second, I needed to make a decision. Spinning the roulette wheel of possibilities, I choose my prize only to discover upon installation that I secured the wrong one.

There are two morals to this story. First, keep the receipt. Second, with a world of options before the most challenging choice is often making a choice.

In our current era of COVID, where our choices seem to be limited, we still have options. We have the luxury of determining each and every day what will direct the course of our lives. In the Bible, Joshua issued this command to his people, "chose this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:14). In other words, decide today who is most important to you. That choice will direct your life.

We have to choose who will have our attention, who will direct our lives, who will receive recognition. For Joshua and other people of faith, their lives are directed by serving the Lord.

Serving the Lord, your choice in the sea of options becomes clearer; what does God want for me.

Choosing to serve the Lord is to determine in your heart that what you want is what God wants. Before you enter a situation demanding a choice, you have already decided who your most significant priority is. The options are still there, but the decision is much clearer. Choose today whom you will serve.