"Many Choices, One God" – Joshua 24:14-24 – August 24, 2003

One day I noticed a woman in my neighborhood washing down her driveway. That is not terribly unusual except that these people have painted their driveway white. They seem to have a thing about white, clean, pristine, driveways. For me it seems just a tad obsessive. I can think of many other things to do with my spare time, not to mention money.

All of us are obsessed with something. Personally, I like a clean desktop. People who come in my office often comment how tidy my desktop is. Actually, I just stuff everything in drawers or in file cabinets. Perhaps I am giving others a false impression, but I prefer not to have things cluttering my desk.

On the other hand, maybe I am using that tidy desk top to create the illusion that I am highly organized and always current with all my work. My obsession to have a neat desk may satisfy my personal need to be tidy, but is it authentic? I know people who are obsessed with cleaning. Their homes look like museums. But, is that any way to live?

Unfortunately there are folks who are obsessed with things that take a great deal of time and energy. For example; those who have to clean constantly, those who work all the time, those who have to win all the time, those who are always focused on sex, etc. They are so obsessed it throws their lives out of balance. In Psychology we call these folks "obsessive-compulsive."

I believe that the obsessive-compulsive person is one who is worshipping a foreign God. Joshua challenged the Israelites because of their loyalty to other gods. He wanted them to serve the one true God. When we are obsessed with other things or endeavors we are committed to other gods instead of the God of our faith.

Obsession is just one of the foreign Gods we commit our time and resources to. There are others. There is the God of "instant gratification." That is when we want what we want and we want it NOW. We live in a culture that does not like to wait. We are teaching our children that they can have anything they want. Rather than make them make choices, we give them everything.

Today’s youth and children have numerous opportunities, extracurricular activities that demand our time and resources. Rather than say, "no," children are chauffeured from place to place and event to event. Perhaps we should start referring to "soccer moms" as "taxi moms."

Hence the obsession to want to do "everything." This past summer we experienced a series of thunderstorms in the Midwest which canceled many little league ball games. That caused many leagues to push their suspended games and tournaments later into late August. That meant they conflicted with other events that had been previously scheduled. Once again this put pressure on families to force their children to make more choices. It all had to do with the weather for which no one was in control. Consequently the need to do it all erased what little free summer days children and families had left.

Perhaps the god that gets more attention than any other is the god of conformity. Children and youth feel they have to do what their peers do. At the same time parents do what they feel other parents are doing.

While on vacation my grandson was watching television in our condo by the beach. He had spent the night with us instead of his parents. While the rest of us were on the beach he stayed behind. His mom and dad were concerned that he was being different. I suggested to my daughter, who in my opinion is an exceptional parent, that perhaps he needed some alone time. She never thought of it that way.

I believe we have become so competitive that we think everyone has to be on the team, doing what everyone else is doing. Our society has become obsessed with competition. Recently, an unfortunate incident occurred at Baylor University. The head coach, Dave Bliss, was fired for covering up a drug habit of one of his players. Thankfully, the assistant coach, Abar Rouse, challenged the head coach and reported the coach’s actions to the right authorities. Instead of conforming and being part of the cover-up, the assistant coach took the high road and acted responsibly.

The gods of obsession, instant gratification and conformity are all gods we choose. To choose otherwise means to be different. It means to say, "no." It means to be who you are. It means to rearrange our priorities.

Joshua wanted his people to turn to the one true God. They pledged that they would but Joshua wasn’t convinced. His people had taken the promised land for granted and were apathetic about their faith. He therefore told them to remember their past, their roots, where they had come from. It was a faith that helped them through overwhelming circumstances and a faith that wasn’t easy. It required some difficult choices, i.e., sacrifices, changes in life style and absolute dependency on God.

The Israelites said they would serve the Lord. Joshua replied, "You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a Holy God. He is a jealous God." Joshua knew that to make a commitment to God is not easy. Human nature is such that we choose things that are easy, familiar and meet our needs. Joshua is telling is listeners that serving the Lord requires commitment. In fact, it goes deeper than that, it requires a covenant or promise.

But the Israelites promised Joshua that they would serve the Lord. Joshua then said, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him." They declared., "We are witnesses." Then came the hard part, for Joshua said, "put away your foreign gods that are among you."

To rid ourselves of the gods of obsession, instant gratification and conformity we have to a make a sincere commitment to let them go. That will require a change in our lifestyle, a redirection of our energy and resources. Basically, it will mean we will have to prioritize our lives in a new way.

Like everyone I have a routine. I get up at a certain time, spend my day doing ministry and use the evening time to be with my wife. Recently I had outpatient surgery. It required a few days of convalescence at home. But, because of my routine I returned to work before I had totally recovered. I overdid it and wore myself out. That healing time should have been my number one priority. Instead I infringed upon it because of my need to get back to my daily routine.

Now I know how God feels when we don’t give God the priority God deserves. By serving other gods we are not only shortchanging God, but hurting ourselves.

We all serve other gods. We all have our obsessions. We conform because of the pressures of society. We don’t like to wait and want everything right now. We don’t realize how these other gods are consuming our lives and taking away from the God who loves us. Josuah’s people made a covenant with him and so can we. It may mean making some choices that won’t be popular with your family and friends. It means we won’t always adhere to the status quo. It means we will remember the trials and tribulations of the ancestors of our faith and realize the way will not always be easy, but like them, we can persevere.

All of us can overcome these other gods by choosing to follow the one true God, giving God our time and our resources. God wants to be worshipped, God wants to be loved. There are many choices, but only One God.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio