Every day, you must choose whom you will worship (Joshua 24:15). There is the bigger picture about whether you will worship the one true God or pursue some false religion. Then there are the little decisions you make every day. With each choice, you will side with God or comport with the enemy.
If we don’t develop the conscious discipline and habit of thinking this way, we are going to lose more battles than we’ll win. It’s easier to sin than to pursue holiness. We prefer to live the way we want to instead of following the narrow path that leads to eternal life in Jesus (Matthew 7:13-14).
Every thought is a choice, as is every word and action. We will either glorify God by the way we live, or we will glorify ourselves. To glorify ourselves is at best pride and worst idolatry (Philippians 2:3; 1 Corinthians 10:31). It is to exalt ourselves above the Holy God of the Universe. It’s laughable to say out loud, but that’s the way we live our lives every day (Romans 12:3). Choosing whom you will worship requires an active choice. You will never accidentally choose God when tempted. Without a conscious decision, you will choose yourself every time (Romans 6:16).
You choose whom you will worship by the habits you cultivate in your life. If your daily habits are marked by prayer and the study of God’s Word, it will be natural to choose God when temptations arise. But if you neglect spending time in scripture and avoid talking with your Father, you won’t be equipped to say no to the desires of this world. If you want to serve the Lord, you must die to everything this world offers (Galatians 5:24; Colossians 3:5). The choice is simple: Jesus or death (Romans 6:23). You will die to this world or your soul will rot in Hell (Matthew 10:28; 2 Thessalonians 1:9).
It sounds harsh, and perhaps a little dramatic. But this is the truth we must all understand. This isn’t a game. How and where you will spend eternity is at stake. There are no second chances, no do-overs. We all get one life and one chance to make the right choice in that life (Hebrews 9:27-28). The world has many pleasures to offer, but not one will survive the grave (Matthew 6:19-20). Everything here will fade and die (1 John 2:17; 1 Peter 1:24-25). That is a certainty, with no alternative.
This may have been a little blunt for your liking, but it’s too important for me to apologize for that. You must choose whom you will worship because your life depends on it (Romans 12:1-2; Deuteronomy 30:19). You must choose whom you will worship because Jesus is Lord of the Universe and He demands it (Philippians 2:9-11). The choice is simple and should be easy, but it’s not.
We love the world and everything it has to offer. We must love Jesus more (Matthew 22:37-38; 1 John 2:15). Nothing in this world is worth not choosing Jesus. No amount of pleasure, notoriety, or satisfaction is worth your soul. You are going to spend your life worshiping the world or worshipping Jesus (Romans 6:12-13). The choice is yours, but you must decide. Know that your decision is final in the most extreme sense of the word. Don’t wait a second longer, because that second may never come. No more games; right now, choose whom you will worship.