“Fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness…But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you’re living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” 
Joshua 24:14-15

Researchers tell us that we make between 33,000 and 35,000 decisions every day. These decisions range from something seemingly insignificant, like deciding what shirt to wear, to something important, like choosing not to hold a grudge against a friend.

Yet, of the thousands of choices before us, one is more important than the rest. In fact, this one choice helps determine the trajectory of our lives.

What is this simple yet profound choice?

Today, you must choose who you will serve: yourself or the Lord. 

Before you decide, think about this…

Just like in the days of Joshua, we live in a land brimming with idols. An idol isn’t just a statue carved out of wood or stone. An idol is anything we value more than God – power, comfort, pleasure, another person, success, material possessions, careers, phones, and more. But all of these idols are really just manifestations of our greatest idol: ourselves.   

Serving the idol of ‘self’ comes easily to us.

Serving the Lord, on the other hand, never just ‘happens.’ Instead, we must intentionally choose to serve Him above all else, including ourselves. This isn’t a one-time decision but a daily commitment.    

The first step in destroying the idol of self is recognizing that God isn’t our ‘Butler In The Sky.’ He doesn’t exist to serve us; we exist to serve Him. As this truth sinks into our hearts, we willingly place ourselves at His disposal, eager to serve Him however He chooses.   

But here’s the thing…

In response to who He is and what He’s done, serving Him should be a delight, not drudgery.  Or, to say it another way, we don’t have to serve the Lord; we get to.

This is exactly what Joshua wants his fellow Israelites to grasp in Joshua 24.

He uses the word ‘serve’ seventeen times, imploring the people to remain faithful to the Lord.  

Here, we see Israel at a crucial moment. After years of war, most of the Promised Land is now under their control. While their past was filled with physical battles, Joshua knows their future will include spiritual battles—fights for their hearts’ allegiance. Every Israelite must decide where their loyalty lies: with the Lord or with the ‘gods’ of the nations.  

The same goes for us. 

In a culture that encourages and even celebrates self-worship, we must also choose who we will serve. 

Consider how much this one decision could radically impact your day. When we choose to serve the Lord over self, it changes everything:  

• How we handle the meeting at work.
• How we approach relationships with our spouses, kids, or family members.
• How we run errands, do housework, and take care of responsibilities. 

Yes, this is truly the most critical choice you’ll make today. 

Remember, Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). The Lord doesn’t want to live in the periphery of your life;  He wants to be your life.  He wants you to serve Him with all that you are and in everything you do.  

So, who will you serve today? Yourself or the Lord?

The choice is yours.

Written by Jonathan Munson, Executive Director, RFTH

DIG DEEPER
Read “Why is Serving God Important?” at GotQuestions.org