Choices That Last A Lifetime

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. ¹⁴ How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.” -Matthew 7:13-14

Anyone obsessed with Boy Meets World like me? I don’t think so. I am not afraid to tell you my obsession for Boy Meets World. One of my favorite episodes is when Eric is working for his dad at the outdoor store. Eric takes advantage of his parents and decides to start taking lunch when he wants….he starts to come into work whenever he wants…and he decides to leave whenever he wants. Obviously, that’s not going to fly with anyone in life. Eric ends up becoming a security guard after his mom fires him and basically gives up and becomes apathetic. He says school isn’t for him and he’s too dumb to do school. Well, as you see, later on in the episode, one of his fellow security guard friends is studying to take the SAT and it motivates Eric to work hard. Eric takes the test, shows his parents, and his parents flip out because Eric has made 200 points higher than the last time he took it. Well, this is what happened to me my senior year of high school. I wanted the easy way out. I didn’t want to work hard or earn anything. I wanted everything to be handed to me on a silver platter with my name on it. 

I think about the first time I took my ACT. I studied, tried somewhat, but thought it wasn’t a big deal. I made a 13. Back then, I wasn’t worried about school. I was worried about getting six pack abs and having the nicest jump shot in order to win the best things in life. I remember talking to my mom and basically giving up saying that I will stay at home and work with my step dad. I could of done that, but I knew that wasn’t the best thing for me to do. Mom signs me up for the ACT again. I dread it. I have friends in there that took the test with me that were a lot smarter than me. I was never a smart guy. If I applied myself, I would do good, but I was lazy and I knew it. I slacked in school, and I slacked in sports, all because I was lazy. I went to take the test. I remember like it was yesterday. I take the test, I feel okay about it, but I knew that I did as best as I could. The next week, I had a softball game at Athens Regional Park in my hometown. I was playing for my church softball team at the time. My step dad also played, too. I remember one game when I was doing okay. Wasn’t doing as hot as the game before (game before that, I jacked three home runs over the fence in one game). Everyone thought I was on steroids, but you could easily look at me and know the answer. I was 6 feet tall and weighed maybe 140 pounds soaking wet. That game, I had just got up to bat and I hit a pop fly and it went into the outfield and I was out. As I was walking back to the dug out, I saw my mom running down the stairs with a piece of paper in her hand, waving it in the air. My heart dropped. I went outside of the dug out to meet mom and she had a huge smile on her face and handed me the paper. I looked at the paper and it was my test scores from the ACT test I had taken a week before. Mom pointed to my score. I looked at it and it said “21”. I needed a 17 to get into the college I wanted to go to. I looked at mom in shock and excitement and she said “I am so proud of you, son.” Man, I felt like a million dollars in that time. I felt like I was on top of the world. In that moment, I knew God had destined great things for me. I ended up going to Lee University, where I met my wife, and graduating in 2012 with a degree in Youth Ministry. How does it feel to walk across that stage? It felt amazing, but it didn’t feel anything like me hugging each of my parents when graduation was over and hearing them say “You did it! I am so proud of you.” I hugged my mom and she cried. Hugged my step dad and he told me how proud he was of me. I hugged my dad and he started crying and told me he was proud of me. Hugged my step mom and she told me she was proud of me also. I tell you what…the best moment I have ever had as a son was to see my parents proud of me. I thank God for blessing me and giving me everything according His plan for my life.

As an individual, you have two choices in life. Choose the right way, which is narrow and hard to get through…or you can take the easy way, which is the wide path, which isn’t the right path. That was me in high school. I didn’t feel like applying myself and becoming a better person. I felt like staying at home and working for my family, because it was the “comfortable” thing to do. God has a plan for each person on this Earth, but it’s our decision to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and go down the narrow way to follow Him. Choose the hard way…the narrow way…for it leads to life…eternal life. I promise you, if you choose God and allow Him to help you with every decision in your life, you will never be let down. If God is for you, who can be against? Choose the narrow way and allow God to show you that He can be trusted. It’s worth it. He’s worth it. Choose Him. 

Are you willing to give up your life and lose everything for the sake of the One who died for you? It’s your choice.