We have to be blunt. A lot of our problems arise because of the choices we make. (Not all, as some are as a result of circumstances; others as a result of the choices of others.)

Choices are related to priorities. We choose what we consider to be important. We choose to neglect those things which are less important. The effects of godly priorities and wise choices can be massive.

It was “when kings (usually) go out to war” that King David found himself in Jerusalem, and saw Bathsheba bathing. This circumstance led to his decision to commit adultery, then murder. His son Absalom usurped the throne, forcing David to flee for his life. David had made bad choices; he was responsible for these choices. And he personally bore their consequences.

Some years later, Solomon took 13 years to build his palace, having taken a mere 7 years to build the temple of the Lord. The Old Testament places these two numbers in successive verses; 1 Kings 6.38 & 7.1. Just reading these verses together indicates a wrong priority. It took some time, but his priorities subsequently bore bitter fruit, as his heart was turned from God, and his son Rehoboam was ill-prepared for the conflicts which arose after Solomon had died.

In John 2, Jesus Christ entered the temple, driving out those who bought and sold, overturning their tables. He cried out (v16) “Do not make my Father’s house a home of merchandise!” There is nothing inherently wrong with buying and selling. The problem was one of priority – it was not the place for it.

In the parable of the sower, the seed sown among weeds because choked by them. Such is the effect of bad choices and wrong priorities. The seed of God, planted in our hearts, becomes smothered and unfruitful.

The fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Self-control includes having right priorities and making good choices.

‘By Christian perfection,

I mean (1) loving God with all our heart. Do you object to this?

I mean (2) a heart and life devoted to God. Do you desire less?

I mean (3) regaining the whole image of God. What objection to this?

I mean (4) having all the mind that was in Christ. Is this going too far?

I mean (5) walking uniformly as Christ walked. And this surely no Christian will object to.

If anyone means anything more or anything else by perfection, I have no concern with it. But if this is wrong, yet what need of this heat about it, this violence, I had almost said, fury of opposition, carried so far as even not to lay out anything with this man, or that woman, who professes it?’

(John Wesley’s Journal, June 1769)

(This was not all he said on the subject, as one of his 44 Sermons addressed the issue. But if we are going to join this same debate 250 years on, we should look at the original sources if possible.)

The short book of Ruth is tender and precious. It is full of humanity and hope and, especially, grace.

Ruth was an outsider, a Moabite. In fact, the tribe of Moab was cursed (Deut 23.3-4). As late as Neh 13.23-27, some 600 years later, marriages to Moabites were strongly disapproved.

Yet, the story brings Ruth, a young Moabite widow, to the field of Boaz, a wealthy land-owner in Bethlehem. Boaz urged her to remain in his fields, gleaning amongst the crops; he provided that his young men would not ‘touch’ (abuse) her. She would enjoy safety among his servant girls.

As the story develops, Ruth, urged on by Naomi, her mother-in-law, seeks something more from Boaz. ‘Take your maidservant under your wing,’ she asks (Ruth 3.9, NKJV) Part of Boaz’s response was a generous portion of grain to take home!

Jewish inheritance laws meant that his estate (and reputation) would be endangered by marrying a Moabite (Deut 23.3). This was a huge decision. Yet this costly choice by Boaz pre-figures Christ’s death for Gentiles as well as Jews.

As a result, we find Ruth in the genealogical story of David and Christ. The widow becomes the ‘mother’ of royalty and deity.