Who Will You Serve?

Unquestionably, the most famous part of Joshua twenty-four is Joshua’s ultimatum to the people: choose this day who you will serve; to which Joshua added that he and his house would serve the Lord. That short passage is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Joshua begins the chapter by recounting to the people a brief history, beginning with Abraham’s father. When he reaches the point where the Israelites crossed the Jordan into the land that God had promised Abraham, he makes an interesting statement. He says that the Israelites didn’t conquer the land with their own swords and bows: God drove their enemies out before them. They were in possession of a land they didn’t work for; they lived in cities they didn’t build; and they ate from vineyards and olive trees they didn’t plant. All this was what the Lord did for them.

It is at this point that Joshua comes in with the famous ultimatum. To us, it may seem obvious. After all the Lord has done for them, of course they’re going to serve the Lord! But … it isn’t actually that obvious.

The winter of 2008-2009 could well be written in my personal history as the season when I crossed my own Jordan River and took my first steps into the land the Lord had promised to me. I own a house I didn’t pay for; drive a car I didn’t work for; work at a desk I didn’t buy; and type these blurbs on a laptop I don’t even own, while sitting on a nice couch that was given to me. Make no mistake—I have sojourned in Egypt, and I have wandered around in the wilderness in unbelief, but this land the Lord has given to me.

The Lord opened my eyes to the way He created me to function, and now He sets the options before me: will I serve the One who gave me all of this? Or will I serve mammon? Will I bury myself in stress by focusing on doing the work that brings in the cash now, or will I focus on the more challenging and less lucrative task of training others to do much of that work, which is part of what God designed me to do? It’s good and well to bask in the wonder of the great things the Lord has done, but don’t kid yourself: knowing what God has done is no guarantee that we’ll show our backs to mammon and set our hearts to serving the Lord.

In the last three weeks, as I’ve made a shift in my thinking and lifestyle toward honoring the Lord by living the way He created me to live, I can feel that my body is frequently relaxed—for the first time in my memory. I also noticed that my income has dropped. Will I serve the Lord in faith, or will I serve mammon in fear?

It isn’t a "no-brainer." It’s a choice I must intentionally make.

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