I’ve been thinking about how often the Bible talks about doing things “according to God’s Word.” (See A Light unto Our path). I usually think of it along the positive lines. If I live according to God’s Word then I will be blessed. If I live as God instructs then I will have peace and joy in Him and will demonstrate to others the advantage of living the Christian life.
But, Christians don’t always live according to God’s Word. Sometimes we think we have a better way or a more convenient way or a way that will be more appealing to the general public or our close group of friends or co-workers. There is no blessing promised for the Christian who lives according to her own word. IN fact, when we spurn God’s way and take the path we have decided on we leave ourselves wide open for trouble.
In my recent study of 1 Samuel one of the things that Samuel warns Israel about is having a King who does not follow the ways of the Lord. He says in 1 Samuel 12:15, “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king.” As you proceed through that book God clearly announces His renunciation of Saul’s throne because Saul disobeys His commands. Our God is the same God.
The Bible clearly teaches that we serve God or we serve Satan. We can’t be on the fence, the fence doesn’t exist. If we are not working very deliberately for God’s glory then the dark forces win a victory. The good news is that in the end God always wins – Psalm 1:6 says, “for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
What this seems to mean is that many times we will see what appears to be a wicked person prospering or gaining some advantage. But, in the long run God’s ways and God’s people will overrule the gain and the wicked will ultimately lose.
One of the ways that we are to serve God is to show others the love of Christ. They’ll know we are Christian by our love is a biblical concept. Often, we fall short of this expectation. In our homes and workplaces we aren’t known as loving people. Even in our churches it seems that more and more they are becoming places for people to gain status and position rather than being places to serve the Lord.
I know that for me I need to examine my motives. Why am I doing this teaching or being a part of that ministry? Am I serving my own purposes or am I responding to God’s call on my life. Is it my way or His that I am following?
Sometimes the work we do seems good. It seems like the Lord’s work. It may only be wrong if it keeps me from doing the good that God has for me. Ephesians 2 tells us that God has works planned in advance that each one of His children will perform for His glory. If other things keep us from doing them – no matter how “good” those things might be, they may be sin or the way of wickedness for us because we are disobeying God. (Ephesians 8:10)
In our culture it’s easy to get caught up in the “keep up with the Jones’s” or the “no one else is doing it that way” mentality. We look at the standard for living set by other people and not what the scripture tells us is right living according to God’s Word. We, or money, or influence, or status become our gods and the Lord God Almighty is relegated to someone we think about on Sunday mornings only. In 1Kings 18:21 Elijah challenged the people. He said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.”
You and I also need to decide who we will follow – the Lord God Almighty or our own desires. According to God’s Word we cannot serve two gods. We must choose one.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, sets a right example for us to follow. In Luke 1:38 we are told that she responded to the news that she would become pregnant through the Holy Spirit with, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord: let it be to me according to your Word.”
Is that our prayer as well? Do we know God’s Word well enough to follow it?