by Ken Weliever<\/p>\n
The other day Norma Jean and I discovered a quaint little breakfast spot on North Redington Beach, The Sweet Sage Caf\u00e9. It’s a combination caf\u00e9, gift shop, and boutique with a beautiful outdoor garden.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Make-Good-Choices.jpg\")
After a delicious breakfast, we began browsing through the gift shop reading some of the clever plaques. Many were inspirational. Others were funny. And a few slightly risqu\u00e9. However, this one caught our attention. And we knew we needed to buy it.<\/p>\n
Making good choices is essential to every successful endeavor in life. In fact, the quality and kind of life we live hinges on our daily choices. The prolific author Anonymous wrote, “Life is all about making choices. Always do your best to make the right ones, and always do your best to learn from the wrong ones.”<\/p>\n
God made us free moral agents with the power to choose. Author and psychologist, Dr. J. Martin Kohe, went so far as to say, “The greatest power a person possesses is his power to choose.” And “every choice you make,” observed Zig Ziglar, “has an end result.”<\/p>\n
The Bible is filled with examples of people who made poor choices with disastrous results. From the very beginning when Eve chose to listen to Satan’s lies to eat the forbidden fruit, to Lot’s choice of pitching his tents toward sinful Sodom, to King David’s decision to gratify his lusts with Bathsheba, we see how wrong choices can drastically affect your life, impact your family, and alter your destiny.<\/p>\n
When Israel stood on the brink of the promised land, Moses in his farewell address challenged them with this stirring message.<\/p>\n
“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live … But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish… I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Unfortunately, Israel too often forgot God, disobeyed His Word, made sinful choices, and suffered the devastating consequences. This ancient, divine principle is no less true in the 21st century.<\/p>\n
Leadership guru John Maxwell was right when he wrote, “Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.” Consider these steps in our daily choices.<\/p>\n
Choices lead to actions. Repeated actions produce habits. Habits form character. And our character is who we really are and reaps an ultimate destiny. William Jennings Bryant expressed it this way, “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.”<\/p>\n
Every choice, big or small, has a consequence. The career we choose. The person we marry. The friends we associate with. The books we read. The movies we watch. The vacations we take. How we spend money. The entertainment we enjoy. The way we manage time. And even what we eat and drink.<\/p>\n
Even in times of extreme stress, adverse circumstances, uncomfortable situations, and disagreeable people, we have a choice. We can react or respond. Be grouchy or gracious. Be disruptive or disciplined. Become bitter or become better.<\/p>\n
“No matter what the situation, remind yourself, I have a choice,” advised Deepak Chopra.<\/p>\n
Ultimately all our choices ought to honor God, follow the principles and precepts of His Word, set a good example for others, and contribute to our spiritual growth.<\/p>\n
“Make good choices today so you don’t have regrets tomorrow.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Ken Weliever The other day Norma Jean and I discovered a quaint little breakfast spot on North Redington Beach, The Sweet Sage Caf\u00e9. It’s a combination caf\u00e9, gift shop, and boutique with a beautiful outdoor garden. After a delicious breakfast, we began browsing through the gift shop reading some of the clever plaques. Many…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[763],"class_list":["post-28279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-decisions"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":28310,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-god-holding-us-responsible-when-it-is-he-who-made-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":28279,"position":0},"title":"Why is God holding us responsible when it is He who made us?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why does a perfect God, who knows all and sees all, create imperfect beings in the first place, then curse those people and all the people thereafter? Then we who were born into this world without a choice must obey all these things, meet every week, and if we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50470,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-is-responsible-for-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":28279,"position":1},"title":"Who Is Responsible for Sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ezekiel 18:4-20 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A number of years ago, I couldn\u2019t find a parking space in our lot because of some school function across the street. I finally found a spot on the side of one street among many other cars and walked to the building.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47131,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-impact-of-our-choices\/","url_meta":{"origin":28279,"position":2},"title":"The Impact of Our Choices","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dennis Stackhouse Just prior to his physical death, Joshua tried to encourage the people of Israel with these familiar words: \"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95196,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-gods-will-for-me-part-4-making-a-decision\/","url_meta":{"origin":28279,"position":3},"title":"What is God\u2019s Will for Me? Part 4: Making a Decision","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverbs 16:1-9 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What makes a decision a good one? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Is every decision a moral choice? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Should I have chocolate or strawberry ice cream? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How do I tell when a choice is personal and when it is moral? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus said that all of God\u2019s laws\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70006,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/theres-always-been-two-choices\/","url_meta":{"origin":28279,"position":4},"title":"There’s Always Been Two Choices","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall There's always been two choices, two paths, two decisions. It started in the Garden of Eden. The enigmatic tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil can be understood simply: obeying God by not eating led to life and functioning as God intended-good, or eating led to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93950,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-will-to-be-wise\/","url_meta":{"origin":28279,"position":5},"title":"The Will to Be Wise","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dee Bowman via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 14 No. 8, August 2014 In the introduction to the Proverbs, Solomon uses several words with similar connotations, each related to wisdom. Listen to them: \"To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding. To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28279\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}