choice

Today Nathan was playing with this little battery operated phone just before bath time & wanted to take it in the water.  I knew it would break in the water so I put it aside & he flipped out.  Thankfully he got distracted with something else momentarily and got out after quickly bathing.  He had the phone in his hand for a couple hours after that.   He is not even 3 yet so I obviously didn't give Him a choice.
God always gives us a choice, but sometimes because of our choices that proverbial phone we love so much won't work for long.  Maybe we think 'ohhh... that bad consequence won't happen to me'  we know the consequence to our actions and we take the risk anyway.  I'm sure Nathan would've risked his phone breaking today if he had had the choice & then what?  When we're upset because life isn't working out we can most often blame our choices.

I was praying about something last night, about a specific choice.  I was praying about my health choices last night and God reminded me that ""Everything is permissible for me--but not everything is beneficial" this was the only part of the verse recalled to me, but here is what 1 Corinthians 6:12 says, ""Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything" (NIV).  There are so many things we can do, but what will unhealthy choices profit us?  I don't just mean physically unhealthy, I mean spiritually, emotionally, & physically unhealthy...   Then verse 13 reads, "“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”—but God will destroy them both." (NIV).  Basically God was saying to me in prayer, 'eat what you want, but know that some things are not beneficial... some food will damage your body. Its your choice.'  Does type 2 diabetes run in my family? yep.  Heart disease? yep. Is that a sign for me to eat healthy? yep.  Do I judge someone who can drink nothing but soda everyday? nope. "Everything is permissible..."  But let none of us be mastered by anything other than Christ!  If I am mastered by something I have no control over it whatsoever.  Keep a watch on that.  If God asked you to stop something today, would you be able to? If not you are mastered by it. Or what if He asked you to go and do _____? If you wouldn't or couldn't, you may be mastered by something other than Him. Check yourself, I certainly have over the past few months... when doing the checking do it in prayer with God, He knows you better than you know yourself.  Self assessment always leads me to more self centeredness, more self hate which ultimately leads me to see myself in a skewed light. God's light is right, mine is dark.