Josh 24:14- Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
15. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
God created man to be a free will agent. As with Adam & Eve, we are free to serve God or free to spend our lives in vanity trying to please our sinful flesh. Whatever the case, the choice is totally up to us; and God will not coerce, manipulate, or interfere with our decision making process. The angels also have free will. One-third of them chose to leave and defect from the army of God to join the rebellion of satan (Rev. 12:3-4). It was God’s divine Will, and sovereign right, to bestow such a wonderful right to His creatures. Sin is the culprit that makes free will a hindrance or even a death sentence to those outside of Christ. For this reason in our topical verses Joshua, Moses successor, challenged Israel to choose the living God who brought them out of bondage into the land He promised, or choose those gods which are created in the idle time of a heart and mind void of the Fear of the Lord!
Our decisions should be made based upon the Word of God. Reverently and carefully should we think before we act. Impulse is the mother of all mistakes. One moment to think about what the Will of God is could be the different between a life full of regrets, or a life lived in the incomprehensible peace of God (Philippians 4:7). Ask Solomon who said, “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” Sounds like a man who made a lot of bad decisions. Also Israel, who throughout its history, ignored Joshua’s sound advice and was evicted out of the “Promise Land” that he fought so valiantly to get them into. Yes, we have the right to choose; but a decision(s) without seeking the full counsel of God could lead to some serious consequences.