To Encourage You

Hebrews 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.”

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “You can’t have it both ways.”  Another way people say this is “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” It’s all about choices, the tradeoffs that exist in life.  It’s true about things in the physical world and it’s just as true in the spiritual world.  However, the ramifications of our choices in the spiritual world are infinitely more significant. 

Think, for a moment, of marriage. By its very nature it is extremely exclusive.  When a person chooses a spouse, it is a choice that has ramifications for the rest of his or her life.  Sure, they may later choose to divorce, but they don’t do so without significant physical, financial, and emotional cost.   The choice to follow Christ, or not, is much more significant, with ramifications to all of life and for all eternity.  We see this in the account of Moses above. 

Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter as an infant. As such, he was privy to all the riches of Egypt.  But to fully indulge in those riches meant to turn his back on his Jewish heritage and follow the gods of the Egyptians.  He eventually reached an age where he had to choose. He could continue as an Egyptian and enjoy all the worldly privileges and pleasures that that came with that life, or he could choose to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and turn his back on all that Egypt had to offer. Surely this was a difficult choice. It wasn’t like choosing wheat or rye bread for breakfast. And it wasn’t like choosing between two potential women to spend the rest of his life with. It was much more significant than this, and it carried with it a steep cost.  If he chose Egypt, he was certain to enjoy worldly pleasures for the rest of his life. If he chose the people of God, he would give up all that, and actually suffer reproach from the Egyptians rather than a life of privilege with them.

So, what did he do? He chose “the reproach of Christ.”  But why on earth would he do this? It’s because he looked at what both ways had to offer and counted the cost. He realized that all the pleasures and treasures that Egypt had to offer were “fleeting.” He realized that to choose Christ was to choose the way that offered greater wealth than anything this world could provide, for the way of Christ offered eternal rewards. It was a far better way.  In fact, he knew that the way of Egypt would prove no more valuable than chaff in the end (Psalm 1:4), while the way of Christ would prove “more precious than gold, than much pure gold” (Psalm 19:10). 

Moses’ choice is, in a sense, the very same choice every person on the face of the earth must make. We will either choose to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin, or we will choose the way of Christ that offers “pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).  So, what will you choose, for neither you nor I can have it both ways?  To choose to follow Christ is an exclusive thing. Jesus plainly told us, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).  The apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 6:16): “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness.”

It’s a choice everyone must make. There is no middle ground. So, what will your choice be?  The way of sin that will leave you with absolutely nothing after this short life is over, or the way of righteousness made possible by placing your faith in the Son of God Who died so that He might take away your sin and leave you with eternal righteousness and eternal pleasures at God’s right hand.  Seems like a simple choice.  But as anyone knows, it’s a difficult one, because our natural tendency is to love our sin.  The question is, do we love it enough to lose everything in the end.  Does that make any sense?  The answer is obvious, don’t you think?