Choosing God Over The World

In Romans 13:11-14, the apostle Paul urged the Christians in Rome to cast off the works of darkness and walk in the light. We have already spent enough of our lives in sin; now, our salvation is closer than when we first believed.

Because time is short and there is much work to do, we must be diligent (careful and hard-working) to put away dark deeds, put on the armor of light, and serve the Lord.

The Weight of Worldliness

Some Christians are ineffective in serving God because they are not fully dedicated. They try to hold onto worldly habits: lust, gossip, covetousness (a strong desire for things belonging to others), and general worldliness.

These worldly attachments weigh us down, stunt our spiritual growth, and make us useless in God’s service.

Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us… — Hebrews 12:1

To run our spiritual race successfully, we must be unencumbered (free from burden) by the world.

Choosing a Side

We cannot have it both ways: we must either choose God completely or the world completely. Trying to serve both always leads to failure (Matthew 6:24; 1 Kings 18:21).

It is easy to deceive ourselves into thinking we are serving God when our hearts are actually devoted to worldly things. We must examine our thoughts and actions to see who we are truly serving.

Make Your Decision Today

In the Old Testament, Joshua challenged the Israelites to decide once and for all who they would serve (Joshua 24:14-25). They needed to make a firm choice that day and stick to it.

When the people quickly answered that they would serve the Lord, Joshua rebuked (corrected) them. He warned that they were too fickle (unreliable and constantly changing their minds) to truly serve a holy God.

History proved Joshua right. The Israelites frequently promised to follow God, only to complain against Him and fall back into idolatry shortly after. Just like them, we must choose today whom we will serve, and follow Him with all our heart.