WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

[Pastor Bayo Afolaranmi]

Dearly Beloved,

WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV).

"`So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?' The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this" (1 Kings 3:9-10 NIV).

The traditional wedding ceremony in most part of Nigeria has been replaced with either Christian church wedding ceremony or the Islamic wedding ceremony. This modern ceremony is now being preceded by or mixed with what is commonly called the engagement ceremony. The engagement ceremony is mostly traditional in nature. One of the aspects of the engagement ceremony is picking of the most valuable thing out of the dowry items that the family of the groom brings to the family of the bride. The bride will perform this rite. She is expected (when she is a Christian) to pick a copy of the Holy Bible that has been included in the dowry for that purpose. It is a way of telling the whole world that the bride values the Holy Bible more than any of the dowry items and that she is deciding to make the word of God her guide as she is entering into a new life.

This practice is good and laudable. Nonetheless, how many of such brides value the word of God more than any other thing in the world? How many of them really make it their guide in their matrimonial homes? These are applicable to men also, although, they are not required to make such decision during the engagement ceremony.

The practice has made me ponder on many practices we are doing religiously without thinking seriously about their purposes and implications. If the bride (or even the groom) is given free hand to choose what she likes most, would she choose the Bible? If you were given such rare opportunity to choose from the things of this world and the word of God, would you really choose the word of God?

Solomon chose to be wise when God asked him to ask for anything (1 Kings 3:4-14), however, at his later years, he abandoned his choice and allowed his foreign wives to mislead him (1 Kings 11:1-9).

If you have the opportunity to choose anything in life, what would you choose? Even when you choose wisely, would you remain with your choice?

In His service,

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).