As for Me and My House (Joshua 24:15)

After the list

Joshua 24 opens with God listing everything He's done for Israel: rescuing them from Egypt, clearing Jericho, giving them cities they never built. Then comes verse 15. If serving the Lord seems undesirable, choose today whom you'll serve. "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Everyone serves something

Israel had carried idols out of Egypt and kept drifting back to them. Our idols look different: career, fitness, entertainment, even hovering over our kids. The question isn't whether you'll serve. It's whom.

A declaration, not a survey

Joshua doesn't ask who's with him. He states where he and his household stand. One participant called it a leadership declaration. Another said he says "thank you" every morning before his feet touch the floor. Someone quoted Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody," and another pointed out that the plaque on the wall gets tested by a thousand small decisions every day.

Try this

• Look at last week's calendar and spending, and ask what they say you served.
• Start tomorrow by deciding, out loud, whom you'll serve.