Articles
For God?, or For Us?
Oh the things done in the name of religion. Many, many things fit that statement, and we constantly see things in the news as well as things with our own eyes that cause us to question the motivations behind them. We know that only God knows the true motivation of the hearts of mankind, so we need to be careful. God is the judge of men's hearts. But we also know that God says we will be exposed to people who will do extravagant things because of the love of money. He says "the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10) and we are told to avoid the "very appearance of evil" (1 Thes 5:21-22 kjv), so we sort of have to reach a conclusion for ourselves, dont' we, at least to the extent that we determine what to avoid? It would be obvious that these people God talks about, loving themselves and their money (2 Tim 3:2), have the wrong motivations
A couple of recent national news stories raised eyebrows. I for one, really love airplanes, especially private jets. They have always interested me, and I've been privileged to fly on a handful. There's nothing that really compares. But, there are alternatives. One cay buy a lot of 1st class tickets for $54 million and probably twice as many coach! Maybe you read these?
And it's not just material things. Many new agendas are being pushed in today's world that we could also cringe about when the people pushing them claim God supports them, if we know full well that God says otherwise repeatedly in His Holy scripture. (1 John 2:16)
It's great that people aren't afraid to claim to follow God, and that they will at least take the heat for saying there is a God. But claiming God doesn't give us a blank check on what we desire to do in life. Jesus, the very Son of God explained that God sets things the way they are, "For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken." (John 12:49)
Jesus also very plainly says that not everything done in the name of religion is acceptable to Him, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matt 7:21-23) (Also read the story of Nadab & Abihu, Leviticus 10)
God has never said 'anything goes' as long as we do it in the name of religion, and in fact, He has specifically said some things are never acceptable under any circumstances, yet people attach "God" in some way, and proceed as if that makes sinful activity OK. They feel empowered to pursue their whims with the blessing of God, when God may well have instructed otherwise.
No, we are not the judge. It's not our place to separate the saints from the sinners, that's God's job. None of us is without sin, and we should readily admit that we too fail God sometimes. But it is our job to read and study His scripture (2 Tim 2:15), so that we will know Him and know His will for our lives. He tells us to spread that Word throughout the world. He tells us to preach it when people are willing to listen, and when they aren't (2 Tim 4:2). People need to hear what God has to say, and after that, it's between them and God.
