You Have a Choice; What Are You Going to Do?

There was a boy on my football team the other day that received an in-school suspension. He was 'involved' in a fight that happened at school. He recorded a video of this fight that happened in the hallway. I spoke with him about his choice to record the fight. I sat there and asked him why he filmed it. We talked for a few minutes, then I explained what he could have done differently to avoid getting in trouble. At that moment, I said these words to him, "You have a choice."I went on to offer the suggestion of stepping in as a leader and breaking up the fight. His responded to me saying, "The teacher told the class that even if they were to jump in and break up the fight, they were considered to be a part of it and would face the same consequence as those students that were fighting."

Sometimes we are faced with a situation if life in which the right choice results in the same consequence as a wrong choice.

Wouldn’t it be better to receive a consequence for being a part of the solution rather than the same consequence for having been a part of the problem? As Christians, we need to step up for people and do what is morally right for the good of our brothers and sisters.

As Christians, we need to:

• Have those tough conversations with people who are disrespectful to others.
• Step up for those who are getting bullied by others.
• Be leaders in our community; when we see something wrong in front of our eyes, we need to step in and come to the need of others.

It is so easy to be focused on what is ahead rather than the people we come in contact with on a daily basis.Think about Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees were pestering Jesus and trying to catch Him off guard when they brought the adulterer in the presence of Jesus. Jesus stepped in on her behalf and said,

“So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” - John 8:7

Jesus had countless interactions with people in which He just took the time to speak and reveal His love. We come across people every day that are suffering and are in need of someone to love them for a moment. It could be someone as close as family, co-workers, the homeless man on the corner, the family in need of groceries, etc.

[Did you know that following Jesus will cost you more than you think? Good news though, it's completely worth it.]

God has called us to be a light in the darkness. He has called us to walk boldly and courageously. If someone doesn’t know Christ, they don’t know love. We can’t expect people to live Christ-like if they have never experienced His love. What are we going to do?

As followers of Christ, you have a choice whether to share God's love or not. (If not you, who will?)

In ending today's post, I want to share two relevant Bible verses on this same topic. I encourage you to really think about the meaning behind these verses.Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. - Philippians 2:3