Choices In Life

by Rev. Eric Folkerth

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days…”

We’ll be switching to our Hebrew Scripture reading this coming Sunday, because it’s one of my favorite scriptures in all the Bible.

The phrase “Choose life” has an unfortunate modern association that does not, at all, capture it’s true and full meaning. You can’t help but know that it’s been embraced by political and social movements in modern America.

I don’t want to get caught in those weeds today.

Instead, I want to focus on the FIRST word in the phrase: “Choose.”

One of the most powerful gifts we human beings have is the power of choice. So long as we feel as if we *have* a choice, we tend to feel sense of empowerment over our lives. It is when governments, religion, society…takes *away* our choices that we feel most disempowered.

This passage comes from a crucial moment in the history of early Hebrew people. They have wandered for forty years in the desert. They are standing on the very edge of the “Promised Land.” They can literally look across the river and see it.

You might think that God’s message to the people would be: “Congratulations! You’ve finally made it!”

But, no. God’s message is instead a sobering reminder. Every day of the rest of their lives, they will wake up with a choice.

God makes it clear that God *hopes* the choice will be for the things that give life. There is no credible sense in which God simply meant to indicate one social issue, or one meaning of the word “life.”

But God also makes it clear: It’s up to *us* to make the choice. Our “free will” is baked into what it means to be a child of God.

God says what we all know intuitively: Every day we face choosing things that give life to us, to our bodies, to our world, to our community; and every day, we face choosing things that bring harm to all those things.

So…choose those things that give wholeness, health, justice….life.

Sometimes, “choosing life” is turning away from addictions to drugs, alcohol, shopping, sex, or food. Many of these things can bring us joy…but they can also trap us in ways that bring death.

Sometimes, “choosing life” will mean turning away depression and self-loathing. It will mean speaking kindly to ourselves and to those around us. It will mean making small steps, small choices, every day.

Sometimes, “choosing life” means remembering to rest, get enough sleep, get enough exercise, and eat foods that truly nourish our bodies rather than harm them.

Sometimes, “choosing life” means finding crucial friends and confidants we can share our struggles with…or moving away from toxic and harmful relationships that “gaslight” us.

Sometimes, “choosing life” means turning away from the harmful beliefs of our youth —exclusionary religious views, racists, sexists, or homophobic views— and turning toward views that give life not just to ourselves, but also to others.

In other words, every day we live, we are bombarded with choices. Sometimes we live unconsciously and as a result we “make harmful choices.” Other times, we live fully aware of ourselves, our bodies, and our surroundings.

There is much new brain science out there that suggests our choices are often subconscious. Our “implicit bias” toward people who look differently than us goes deep into every human being. Sometimes our “decisions” happen within milliseconds, even more conscious awareness.

Further, sometimes the playing field is un-level. Some people —People of Color, Women, the LGBTQ community, immigrants— have to work *twice* as hard to overcome the injustice of the system itself. They *make* good choices, but sometimes the game itself feels rigged.

It’s important to name these last two caveats: That our brains are often rigged to choose tribe over all humanity…that the playing field is often rigged to exclude and make “choice” harder for some people.

All the more reason to work for a world in which CHOICE is honored. Our calling as Christians isn’t so much to critique the choices of everyone else…but instead to work toward an equitable world where everyone understands they HAVE choice.

Only then can we ask:
Are our choices giving us life or bringing us death?
How is our soul?
Do my choices witness to the Great Commandment? Do they show a love for “God, neighbor, and myself?

Here’s what I know.

When you feel most trapped, when you feel most beset by anxiety, when the “hole” you’re stuck down inside feels deep and dark…even on that day…you still have choice. They may be *hard* choices.

But even when we are facing a terminal disease, God still gives us the choice of *how* we will approach our death. The power of choice is ours, no matter what life throws us.

Make small, good choices every day.
Then string one day into the next.

Making choices, “choosing life,” in all our ways, is what helps give our lives meaning.

Eric Folkerth