By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
Hebrews 11:24-26
It doesn’t matter who we are, we all have tough choices to make. Deciding to do something where the immediate payback isn’t good. Where we choose something that’s hard and painful now so that we get the benefits in the future.
We all do this. We save up for a car. A trip. A house. For retirement. We’ll stop eating so much now so we can lose weight in the future. We’ll start to exercise so we can build up muscles and better health in the future.
There was a day that I wanted to make the high school basketball team. And for this goal, I made all sorts of choices. I ran up and down hills with ankle weights on. I did leg lifts for 15 minutes at a time. I drove all over the place, looking to play with people that were better than I was. Every spare minute was spent playing basketball.
And why did I make those choices? It wasn’t because it was so much fun. It wasn’t because people were watching and cheering me on. No. It was because I was looking forward to something. To have my name up on the wall in the gym. To be given a uniform and travel with the team.
Yes, we all make choices in this life. We look at the different options and decide. We do the things we do because we think they will make life better. That they will fulfill us. That we’ll become better people.
In one way, Moses was just like us. But in another way, he was really different. Instead of choosing what would make him happy now, he made three of the toughest choices in the world of choices. I don’t think that there’s any way that we could imagine what he went through. What he walked away from. Here are three things that he chose.
Refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He was adopted into one of the richest families on earth. Think about everything that you’d get if that were true for you. Imagine being adopted by someone with over a hundred billion dollars.
Chose to be mistreated along with the people of God. Instead of choosing something that would give him physical pleasure, he went the other way. He thought about it and picked to be harmed instead of being blessed. Instead of living a happy life, he was willing to suffer now
Regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ. More than just not having stuff, he chose for people to insult him. Rather than just having people click Like on everything in his life, they were going to click “thumbs down” on everything he did. Everything he was.
Moses said no to lots and lots of things that would have given him a great life. He’d always have the latest clothes and shoes. His cell phone would have been updated every year. He’d never have to worry about using his debit card because it would have been paid from Pharaoh’s account. There’d be no more worrying about getting caught in a radar trap for speeding in his chariot.
Everything about life for Moses would have been great. His future and financial security would have been set. No worrying about if he’d be fired from a job. Every meal would have been cooked and delivered. All his dirty dishes would have been washed. He’s never have to take the trash out.
But for some reason this wasn’t enough. There was an emptiness inside that all the riches of Egypt couldn’t fill
Enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Let’s be clear, going against God’s choices in this life does give pleasure. But only for a little while. Eventually they dry up and vanish.
Greater value than the treasures of Egypt. No matter how much money Moses had, or how big the limit on his credit cards, he knew that there was something more valuable.
Moses did all this and more. And why? Because God’s future promises were worth more than anything that this world could give. He was willing to say “no” to the cheap things that were here today for the eternal things that had greater value and pleasure. He knew that something better was down the road, so he decided make daily choices that pointed to the future.
The Hebrews needed this message because they were going through really difficult and painful persecution. We’re probably not being beaten up physically because of our faith in Jesus. But we need this same message today because so much of life is pulling us away from God. To do things that will make us feel good for a little while, but will pull us away from the good and eternal life that God has paid for us to enjoy. We need to make tough choices that say “yes” to God and “no” to everyone else. Not to earn God’s blessing and favor, but in thanksgiving to who he is and all he’s done.
Noodling Questions:
Describe a time that you had to make a tough choice. Why was it tough?
Is it harder to say “Yes” or “No” for you? Explain why.
How can future promises motivate us to make choices today?
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People who positively respond to Chet Gladkowski, deeply love their grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He writes from a very practical, daily living standpoint. Everything he writes points us to Jesus, the one who died for us. Each calls us to please the one who first loved us. He serves through www.ChetGlad.org where his blogs and Bible teachings can be found in text and audio. His new book, “HOPE is the Key – Living Through God’s Superpower” is available on his website, Amazon, and other distributors.
Photo from Chet Gladkowski website.
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