Joshua 24: Who Will You Serve?

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” - Joshua 24:15 NIV

As always, we have a choice.  What the world does not understand is that God is not a demanding god.  Unlike the gods of this world such as money, fame, or drugs, God always gives us a choice.     Once people bow down to the god of money and it's power, once they become caught in the grip, once they succumb to it's draw, they are helpless to pursue anything but.  The same is true of fame, people will sacrifice their morality, their dignity, even their humanity for the thrill that fame provides.  And, even more sorrowfully, in the instance of drugs, once a person has chosen to worship at that altar, they have little chance of abandoning their god.  They will give up family, position, even their freedom to pursue the fix that their god provides.

Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses and Joshua does not have a lock on our adoration.  We can choose to love and serve him or we can walk away.  He does not hold us in a powerful grip.  He holds us in the arms of love.  With other gods, if and when one can loose themselves from their powerful grip, one finds freedom.  With God, the opposite is true, when we walk away from God, we abandon life as it is supposed to be.  What kind of god do you want to serve?  One that grips so tight that you can't get free, or one who gives you the freedom to choose.