The Unforgettable Mistake

Decisions, decisions. We are faced with them daily. Some are simple. Some are challenging. Some appear innocent enough yet produce difficulty down the road. Some are quite hard in the moment but produce positive results in the most unexpected ways. But no matter the choice, there is always an associated consequence - good or bad. Todays decisions determine tomorrows destiny.


I recently read an article posted by Brian Barrett on Gizmodo entitled, "The Forgotten Apple Founders Unforgettable Mistake". It is short enough to quote in this post:


"In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple with veteran engineer Ron Wayne. Ten days later, Wayne signed away his 10% of the company in exchange for $800. Here's what he's up to thirty-four years later, $22 billion poorer. Wayne's life now—septuagenarian, coin collector, penny slot enthusiast—might seem pretty bleak. Which is why it's all the more remarkable that he speaks without much bitterness. And while hindsight is perfect, it's not so unbelievable that the Wayne of 1976 had sufficient cause to worry about assuming the fledgling company's potentially massive debt. Or that you or I would have done the same. The only hints of sour grapes: Wayne's never owned an Apple product, and is writing a book about his brief time as a founding father. Even so, the impression one gets is a man filled more with regret than with anger, over a choice that can't be undone or forgotten. [CNN viaThe Next Web]"


Wow. One choice cost this man $22 billion dollars. Now, there's more to life than money, but talk about a choice with a very tangible consequence. It's hard to argue that this man did not make a big mistake. I was struck by the last sentence, "...the impression one gets is a man filled more with regret than with anger, over a choice that can't be undone or forgotten." And that is the one unchangeable truth about choices - they can't be undone or forgotten. I really feel for this man. If I were in his shoes, I probably would have had the same fear and made the same choice. I would suspect most of you would have done the same as well.


So, as Christians, how do we make the right choices? As always, going to the Bible gives us an answer and an example. Joshua is one of my Bible heroes. He was a very brave man and an excellent leader. Here is what he had to say about chooses:


Joshua 24:14-15 (ESV) "14 Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."


Joshua 1:8 (ESV) "⁸This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

From these two verses we find a simple formula for How To Make The Right Choices:

1. Worship. Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to a place called Shechem and he summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel together and the first thing he addresses is proper worship. "Now therefore fear the Lord..." Fear is a part of worship. It is part of having the proper perspective of the complete character and nature of God - understanding who he is. This will naturally lead to a proper...

2. Walk. "Serve him in sincerity..." In order to make the right choices in our life we need to walk in sincerity, which is in direct correlation to our worship. If we do this right then we will have a proper...

3. Work. "Serve him...in faithfulness." When our worship is proper, our walk will be proper. Consequently our work will be proper. And we can't get those out of sequence. But these three things are not enough. We need a proper...

4. Will. Making choices has everything to do with our will. Joshua challenged all of the tribes of Israel to put away false gods and choose to serve the Lord. That was the choice that Joshua made. And this isn't a one time choice. It takes a daily surrender of our will to his will. And the most obvious way to do this is through the...

5. Word. In Joshua 1:8, we have the classic verse on the importance of God's Word, and it is worth repeating and memorizing, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." I love the phrase "careful to do" - this speaks of willful choice, and the quickest way to biblical prosperity and success is by not departing from the Word of God - meditating on it day and night. 

If we follow these steps we can be assured of making the right choice in any circumstance - and avoid an unforgettable and regrettable mistake.