There’s a popular game called “would you rather …?” Questions force you to make decisions, to choose and express priorities. It’s actually a very revealing game in which others gain a glimpse of what’s most important to us. Some sample questions might be:
Would you rather end war or poverty?
Would you rather stay young physically or mentally?
Would you rather be an extra in an Oscar-winning movie or the lead in a box office bomb?
Would you rather find true love today or win the lottery next year?
Would you rather always have a full phone battery or a full gas tank?
You get it… the list goes on and on, revealing our priorities … our preferences.
But there’s another far more important “would your rather” question …
I married the love of my life and my absolute soul mate, perfect (for me) in every way. In our almost 4 years together, I’ve only had one little complaint … there’s been one little irritant in our relationship. (One! Pretty amazing right?!)
I brought this “thing” to my husband’s attention and said, “I’m not sure what to do about this “thing” … I can’t help feeling this way about it.
My sweet man replied, “Well, that’s simple. I just won’t do that “thing” anymore.”
I said, “How hard will that be?”
He said, “Easy. I would rather make you happy than to do that ‘thing.’”
My heart melted. That’s love, isn’t it? It so revealed my husband’s heart to prioritize me. And his willingness to do what would make me happy … to choose me over himself.
And then God showed me the spiritual lesson. That’s exactly the same way God wants me to love Him.
Obedience to God is not about gritting my teeth and doing what I don’t want to do. It’s about loving Him so much that I would rather make Him happy than to hold onto, or keep doing that “thing.” Recognizing, that bringing Him joy is far more important, and a bigger priority than doing that “thing” I want to do. Devotion trumps selfishness.
“May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.” ~ Psalm 19:14 TLB
So .. would you rather please God? Or self? Is your heart’s desire to do what brings Him joy?
And listen .. there’s no pointing fingers here. I so often, don’t get this right. But I want to. So I pray that God will give me a heart that loves Him more, prioritizes Him more, keeps Him on the Throne of my heart and that my every decision would reveal my love for Him.
Not only does God want us to love him this way, but others as well .. just as my husband loved me. When we love God, loving others will flow from that. There’s nothing more important.
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”~ Matthew 22:37-39
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves…” ~ Philippians 2:3
Would you rather …
What does your “would you rather” reveal about you? And if you don’t like what you see, remember God loves you and He’s in the business of changing hearts.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” ~ Mark 12:30
