I really, really hate choices. I have said before that I think we have way too many choices in our world. Just go to a grocery store, book store, car dealership, or any other store-ship if you need convincing.
At Food City the other night, I had toilet paper on my list (hockey tickets, according to Frank Alexander). So I wheeled down the aisle and looked for my favorite brand.
*Note: In the case of toilet paper, quality does indeed matter.
As I perused the options, a rough count revealed 22 different brands. Not to mention the different versions within each brand. Double rolls, mega rolls, quilted, aloe-enriched (shoo-wee...too smeary), and, believe it or not, decorative patterns. Seriously?!? Think the rats in the sewer are comparing whose TP looks best? Point is, there are a hundred different ways to pamper your pooper.
And this is the case with any other product in the world. I think it's silly. It's all about making the buyer think there is a difference in each product, therefore making the buyer believe they can have something better than someone else. The only real difference is price, and most folks believe if they pay more, they are worth more.
In my humble and extremely opinionated opinion, too many choices = deception.
On the other hand, eternity comes with a simple choice. Life or death. Beautiful thing about God's plan is that it is anything but over-complicated.
God has put it all out there, plain and simple, for humanity to read, see, hear, and believe. But, in our choice-conditioned world, we shop around for enhanced versions.
We'll gladly surrender as long as we can choose the terms of surrender. We'll take the straight and narrow road as long as we can detour occasionally in our own directions. We'll die to ourselves as long as we can choose the method of execution. And we'll live our lives for His glory as long as we're allowed to define what brings Him glory.
You see, I think it's getting really difficult to tell if someone is a Christian or not. Or maybe the word "Christian" has more than one definition today. The Bible clearly says that our faith should be shown by our works. So when did it become okay to disconnect our works from our behavior? Oh wait, right. That happened about the same time we started letting celebrity preachers and trendy churches tell us who God is and what He wants to bless us with each day. We didn't like the choice we were given, so we added a few more options.
I guess I just don't understand how Scripture can be interpreted so many different ways. Jesus said there was one Way, one Truth. Now that is simple.
Chuckie. I am glad you came back...haha. Because I'm such an avid blogger as well.
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