Give Them A Choice

When I was a kid I first noticed statues in front yards. We didn’t have a statue in my front yard – we didn’t have much of a front yard. I took note of statues and recognized Jesus, and the Virgin Mary, and even St. Francis of Assisi. I used to think, “O, those Catholics!” But now I think those Catholics are on to something. Putting a statue of your God in the front yard let’s people know what you worship and where you stand. Everybody ought to be so clear with their gods.

Remember, you can make a god ought of anything. Once definition of idolatry is . . .

Making a good thing an ultimate thing.

So your god could be food. It could be sex. It could be most anything. And people could represent their gods, their idols, just like people used to do in more ancient times. You could have a statue of a hamburger. You could have a statue of a beautiful woman. You could have a statue of Joe Paterno. . . O, they already have those.

Regardless of your god, the public sign would clarify where your allegiance lies. I think this would help us all realize that in fact, everyone is religious, everyone has things they value and give themselves to. Unfortunately much of what people give their lives to is unworthy of their devotion. People often wonder where Christians get the idea that they can be so public with their God. This is why – because smaller, meaner, less truthful gods are having their way with the people.

The God of the Bible wants to change that. The God of the Bible is always looking to make himself known. Look at what He did with Joshua and the Israelites. Joshua was the successor to Moses. Joshua was appointed to continue the work of infiltration and invasion of the Promised Land that Moses had really only started. Joshua was given this mandate for taking Canaan, found in Deuteronomy and repeated elsewhere:

When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy, and he clears away many nations before you. . .nations mightier and more numerous than you – and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, you must utterly destroy them.

Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. . .for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods. . .but this is how you must deal with them: break down their altars, smash their pillars, hew down their sacred poles, and burn their idols with fire.


Israel is stay separate from the other people. Is this simply racism? I would suggest no, something else is going on here. Joshua and the people are instructed to stay separate and to tear down the religious altars of the Canaanites so the Israelites will not become like them. Tear down the statues. Hew the sacred poles. A very popular deity in Canaan at that time was the goddess Asherah. She was a sex god. Her image cast in bronze and gold was set upon high poles on high places for people to venerate. The God of Israel said, “Cut them down.”

Biblical scholars used to think this invasion happened in one fell swoop. What is now known is this invasion was much more gradual. Historian Paul Johnson notes that Joshua “did not storm a city if he could avoid it. He preferred to negotiate a surrender or an alliance and peaceful settlement.” The invasion was more like an infiltration.

I would use that word to describe the Kingdom of God for us today. The Kingdom of God is an infiltration into a world currently subjected to demonic powers. The Kingdom of God is, in Dallas Willard’s words, a divine conspiracy to overthrow the powers that be and turn the world right side up again, the way God means for things to be.

You might say, well, in the Old Testament that was warfare. Should we make war on our unchurched neighbors along Third Ave, in Penn Farms, in Ivyside? No, but we can kindly and intelligently point out the insufficiency of their idols.

We demonstrate with our actions that there is another way to live. Actions speak louder than statues. Paul once went to Athens and strolled along the city streets. He saw idols everywhere. The Athenians weren’t shy about diplaying their gods. It is important to note that Paul didn’t take a sledge hammer to those altars. Rather he spoke with the Athenians and said, “I have another God. Let me tell you about this God.” Paul accomplished what Joshua set out to accomplish. He infiltrated a culture with the truth of God. He did this simply by giving the people a choice they never knew they had.

We can give people a choice. You give people a choice by inviting them to church with you. Remember, 80-90 percent of people that come to church for the first time come because someone they know invited them. Give them a choice they didn’t know they had.

When I was a kid I used to like sleeping over at my grandparents, especially on a Saturday night. Truman and Marian would get up early and make breakfast for me before we got ready for Sunday School and church. Grandma Marian used to throw a fat in the frying pan and then eat it. She taught me a little fat is good for you. Anyway, one Sunday Pappy skipped his breakfast and went to the neighbors and picked up their kids. This boy and girl, whom I didn’t know, where washed clean and dressed nice and ready to go. I didn’t understand at the time why their mom or dad didn’t bring them. I just know that Sunday and many Sundays after that, my pappy did.

This is giving a choice.

The plan God had for Israel was that they were chosen to be special; to be God’s treasured possession. By living in relationship with the true God they could then be a blessing to all peoples just as God had promised their forefather, Abraham.

Joshua is nearing the end of his life and he takes stock. He gathers the people at the city of Shechem. By this time Shechem, like Jericho, is already an old city. But until that time Shechem was not a good city. It was named after the young man who raped Dinah. That was its claim to fame. But Joshua and Israel came there and made it their religious center. They transformed a pagan place accustomed to idols and made it a place where they communed with God.

Joshua recounts Israel’s history with them, how God called Abraham forth from the valley of the Euphrates, how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. And then Joshua said, now here we are.

Therefore revere the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Joshua 24.14

See, Joshua knew that Israel herself still needed to keep the idols at bay, clean out the closets, circumcise their hearts once again. If they would have any meaning as a people and any value to the rest of their world, they must remain first and last, God’s people.

So Joshua brought them to not only a choice but a decision.

Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are now living;

The people had a choice- the God of Israel or the gods of the culture in which they were living, gods that went by many names. Joshua made it clear what he had decided:

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.


People come to crisis moments, just like Joshua and Israel, all the time. It’s in those moments that people have to make a choice about who they are and what they believe.


Give people a choice. We are not battling to have someone’s statues broken or their rights taken away. The stakes are higher than this. We are battling for hearts and minds captivated by the gods of the culture in which we all live. Many people don’t know any other way. Give them a choice and call them, just as we are called , to make a decision.

Our faith in God through Jesus Christ requires a decision. We are here to encourage others to say yes to Jesus, the living God.