As we grow older, Jan and I are considering, even reconsidering, some of the choices we make regarding our lives. For example, we’ve had to put down two wonderful dogs in the last 10 years.

Just yesterday, I told Jan, “If we ever get another dog, we should get one that will not outlive us.” We are making that choice because we don’t want to leave our kids with the responsibility of caring for a dog themselves or of finding a home for them. At this stage of life, we are not only thinking about our personal longevity but also about what will survive us.

My questioning about considerations is not just about dogs. Our remaining years on Earth have changed how we choose to spend our money and expend our remaining energy. Do we really need to install an outdoor sink in our backyard or put a new roof on our house? Do we need to buy another piece of clothing, or will what we have last as we enter the last lap of our life-journey?

Life is filled with choices that involve our consideration and sometimes, our reconsideration. Some of those considerations are reflected in our financial situation or are age-related.

Since our nation survives financially through debt and its servicing, Jan and I want to remove ourselves from that influence. By God’s grace, we want to avoid anything that would put us in a place where we might be tempted to compromise any aspect of our lives and become indebted to anything other than the Lord. “Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).

Being indebted to God alone is where miracles of provision take place. The considerations we entertain about our lives and the choices that will follow those considerations have to do with who and what we will become indebted to.

If we follow the Lord and submit our choices to Him, even something like finding another dog or buying yet another piece of clothing will take on a new meaning when those choices are motivated by the Spirit and not another undisciplined choice we made without a deeper consideration of how that choice will play out and affect our lives.