Making Choices with Our Voices
a sermon based on Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
by Rev Randy L Quinn

In 1980, I remember sitting in the office of Archie Clemens, a man who would later become a four-star Admiral leading the entire US Pacific Fleet. I had just reported aboard the ship, and CDR Clemens was advising me to make decisions. "That's what we're paying you to do," he said.

He went on to quote some statistics. I don't know the source of his statistics, nor do I remember the exact numbers he quoted, but I do remember the gist of our conversation. He said something like "If you make 20 decisions in a day, you'll make two or three mistakes. If you make 200 decisions, you'll make eight or ten mistakes." The point being, the more decisions you make, the lower the error rate.

We all make decisions. We make them every day. Most of the time, we don't think much about them, we just make them.

What clothes will I wear today?

What will I eat for breakfast?

Will I go to church?

Will I drive, walk, or ride with someone else?

When I get to church, where will I sit?

Who will I talk to this morning?

Sometimes there is no "right" or "wrong" in the decisions we make; other times there are clear consequences that make one choice better than another - if not clearly right or wrong. And just as certainly, some decisions we make have more impact than others.

Where we will attend college - or if we will attend college - will have a bigger impact on our life than which football game we will watch on any given Saturday.

But every decision we make limits the choices we can make in the future. Choosing one thing almost always necessitates not choosing something else. There are consequences associated with the decisions we make.

If I decide to eat at Arby's after church today, I will not be able to order pizza - it's not on the menu.

If I decide to play with Jesse and Mariah this afternoon, I will not be able to watch a football game on TV - they don't appreciate the game.

If I decide to worship God at church this morning, I will not be able to sleep in - unless of course my definition of "sleeping in" allows it.

If I decide to buy a house, I can expect to make mortgage payments - which will put limits on what other purchases I will be able to make.

When I decided to get married, I limited the opportunities I have for dating other people. (Some people decide their marriage isn't worth maintaining and learn that there are consequences to that decision, as well - as for me, I'd rather stay married to Ronda.)

Since the impact is different, some decisions require more careful and prayerful reflection before they are made.

Joshua reminds Israel - and us - that choosing to serve God is not a decision we should enter into lightly, in part because it means turning our backs on the other gods that vie for our attention. It is a decision that has serious consequences - and it is a decision that needs to be renewed every day.

Choose whom you will serve, this day, he says (Jos 24:15). Every day.

He is so concerned that they might not realize the seriousness of the decision they were making that he makes them say it not once, not twice, but three different times (Jos 24:16-18, 21, 24)! He warns them that there are serious consequences for their decision - including the possibility of angering God by not following through on their commitment (Jos 24:19-20).

In America, we're used to secret ballots. When we vote no one here knows who voted for the majority, nor do we know who voted for the minority. That's because our system is designed to protect those who are in the minority - allowing them to vote without fear of the repercussions that might come from being opposed to the direction our country is taking.

Joshua has not given the people the benefit of a secret ballot. He knows there is a down-side to secret ballots.

The voting at Annual Conference is not much different than the kind of voting done at Shechem. Joshua asks the people to vote with their voices. Will you serve God? And the people say, "Aye."

With a secret ballot, it's easy to not be noticed for the position we're taking. You can hide behind the majority, even if you think the majority is wrong. A personal commitment isn't necessary. Nor is courage. Nor is there any sense of accountability.

Joshua wants to make sure they are making a commitment with courage and will hold one another accountable for their decision. They are witnesses of each other's decision and stones are set up as a public reminder of their commitment (Jos 24:27).

Some people believe that faith should be kept a secret. We should elect to serve God in the privacy of our own home and not let it be known what we have decided.

In my mind, those people have confused the concept of personal faith with private faith. You see, I believe that our faith in God is a personal choice, but it is not a private choice. It is a personal choice that has some very public consequences.

We may make choices with our voices, but how we live it out cannot be hidden. People will know to whom we belong. People will be able to see how our faith is affecting our lives.

You see, it's not like choosing a long distance company for your telephone service. You can't choose it and keep it a secret between you and the company.

Well, maybe it is like choosing a long distance company - because once you've made the choice, there will still be other voices calling and asking you to reconsider your choice - almost on a daily basis.

I wish it was as easy as deciding what clothes to wear in the morning. And I wish it was something that we could decide once and for all and then not think about it again. And I wish it was something we could vote on without any repercussions.

But it isn't. Joshua knew that, too. And the sad part of the story is revealed near the end of the chapter where we read that "Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel" (v 31).

Once there was no one left to hold them accountable, the people forgot about their commitment. No one was reminding them to make the choice daily and then to live it out in their daily lives.

In one of my favorite parables, Jesus tells the story of a man who had two sons. He asks them to do something for him, and while one son says, "yes," the other says, "no." But, Jesus goes on to tell his listeners, the one who said "no" actually went and did it while the one who had said "yes" did not accomplish the task (Mt 21:28-30).

Sometimes it is not enough to make a choice with our voice because our actions speak so loudly that our words cannot be heard.

If we decide, like Joshua, that "we will serve the Lord," there are consequences to that decision.

I hope that is the decision you will make. But I am more concerned that you join me in finding ways to follow through on that commitment as we make the daily decision to respond to God's love and God's grace.

I know God will remain faithful.

May our decision to serve God be as visible as God's election of us (1 Pet 1:1).

Amen.