Our human experience is filled with choices. We spend an amazing amount of time agonizing over decisions driven by our prosperity and the ridiculous amount of items available to us.

Just after the fall of the Berlin wall, I took a group of Russian co-workers shopping. The 40,000 sq. ft. grocery store had aisles of shelves stacked full of items. My Russian friends were completely overwhelmed. The Russian men remained silent, dropping their eyes to the floor. The Russian woman nearly fainted. How had I grown comfortable with so much affluence and so many choices?

Making decisions about things & opportunities gives us a sense of power, freedom & fulfillment. It lines up with the Declaration of Independence’s phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” But too many things & too many choices also give us stress, regrets and the anxiety of ‘missing out on something’.

A declaration of independence tells us, ‘you deserve better’, ‘don’t get left out’, and ‘decide your own destiny!’ These statements may seem true, but for a follower of Jesus their fulfillment looks quite different.

We have a declaration of dependence upon God. ‘A better life, not missing out and our destiny’ all point towards a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. More love, less things. Jesus warned, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:15 NIV

We have only a few choices to make each day. Who is the Father asking me to love? How will I seek Jesus today? Where is the Spirit leading me? The challenge remains ‘do we make our choices, or do our choices make us?’