How having a choice fits into our lives now and forever

The dean of a university was at a faculty meeting when a professor from the antiquities department handed him an old brass lamp they had just acquired. The dean rubbed a smudge from it, and as he did, a genie appeared. “I’m the genie from the lamp,” he said, “and I’m here on a special assignment, Dean. Your unselfish service has won you a reward. You have a choice – you can have either unthinkable wealth, infinite wisdom, or unsurpassed beauty.” Without hesitating, the dean selected wisdom. "It is done!" the genie said, and then he disappeared into a cloud of smoke and back into the lamp. All of the other members of the faculty stared at the dean with amazement. Finally one of them whispered, "Now that you have infinite wisdom, Dean, say something." The dean looked them and said, "I should have taken the money."

Life’s full of interesting choices, isn’t it? You already made several today. Without thinking about it, you exercised one of the greatest God-given qualities you and I have as human beings.

I want us to look at 2 stories about choosing and how having a choice fits into our lives now and forever. Look for yourself in each of these; you’re there.