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God's ways compared to the world's ways.
I felt inspired to come up with an article or potentially a series of articles that covers different aspects comparatively in regards to what God's ways entail compared to what the world sees common practice. I think a lot of different topics may be discussed in order to try to garner a better understanding of why God's ways are ultimately superior and also in order to help us avoid the allure of sustaining worldly customs and habits. I use the word worldly in an almost interchangeable sense with the secular culture and societies general tendencies due to the fallen nature of humanity. Even we as Christians are vulnerable without the assistance of God to temptation if we're not careful. This article can serve multiple purposes along those lines, and I think it will help remind me how important these issues are as well. When I write I want to make it clear that a vast majority of the time I am learning alongside you as readers of our website, God has inspired much of my writings and I honestly feel as though sometimes I have a deep need to examine these things for my own benefit as well. It's amazing that one can serve the Lord and also enrich themselves with understanding in the mean time. That is the kind of God we serve, a God who finds ways to encompass His divine plans with our optimal well being [in the grand scheme of things, in light of eternity] both intertwined and uncompromising of each other.
This thought segues into the very first idea I want to discuss. There are two basic questions that would help us get started here, they are:
Who or what do we serve?
This first question may seem pretty straight -forward at a glance. It is an individual decision that I would venture to say needs to be continually reaffirmed. Unbelievers are faced with no specified entity to serve, in their minds they are free to do anything they would desire. The world says that we are free when we are able to make ourselves gods. It tries to lead us to think that we're supposed to be in complete control and that sin is appetizing. The truth of the matter is that anybody who ascribes to this lifestyle choice is a slave to their own sins, vices, and habits. Sure they are making their own decisions, but those decisions are contaminated by selfishness and rooted in negative emotions. Pride, ego, greed, lust, fleshly desires, or instant gratification are just a few of these flaws we gravitate to. They choose to indulge their feelings and ignore their conscience and heart felt morals. Their conscience in short has been seared and the allure of temptation, the dictates of culture, or the pressure of their peers are just a few of the ways they allow themselves to be misled. Sadly what at first feels right and appears appetizing leads to a dead end. Literally not only is the wage of sin death [in perhaps both spiritual and physical senses], but also in the end sin leaves a taste of dissatisfaction and a sense of discontentment. I know because I have been there myself in some of my areas of weakness. Luckily for me, despite my shortcomings and struggles with even habitual sin in a couple of areas, God has seen me through and forgiven me of my sin. An unbeliever has not submitted to God and hasn't made it a priority to know Jesus Christ. They may feel that sin is a band-aid of numbness or an outlet to forget the realities of their stressful life. The truth is that trying to find solace in a bottle of liquor or in promiscuity to name a couple of examples is as futile as trying to quench your thirst by chewing bubble gum. Worse than that, it's like a bubble gum that causes you to thirst even further instead of solving your problems. Instead of solving problems you now have to face all prior issues, and you have added an extra one (or several) to the mix. It is noteworthy to point out that those of us who are Christian are also very capable of failing in similar areas if we allow these strongholds to form or waiver in the face of temptation or adversity. I know that God is willing to help us, the real question is are we willing to allow Him to work in our lives and prioritizing His ways above our own. It's not supposed to be an easy task and it isn't something any Christian can claim to have mastered in this lifetime. It is a continual aspiration to draw closer to God in obedience and in our relationship with Him. Nobody knows you or I better, not even ourselves. Christians have the comfort of knowing God is there to catch us when we stumble and He will provide us with the tools we need to serve Him if we are willing. Keep in mind that the King of Kings [God] does not need you or I. We should feel privileged to be used by Him and not view Christianity as a free pass to sin without repercussion. On the contrary if we really know God, in our hearts and minds He instills what is right and what we ought to do. Let's just be careful that we are listening to Him and not our own echo.
Sometimes the world also tries to point out that Christians fail and magnify those mistakes. Don't assume for a second that Christians will not ever let you down. We can let you down just as well, if not better, than the next guy. God is the only one who does not let us down, He has been the same since the beginning. He will continue to be perfect today as well as tomorrow and into eternity. It's hard to wrap our minds around that conception of infallibility when we don't take time to study His character and draw closer to Him. I don't think any of us can fathom the feats of a wild animal, maximally empathize with the feelings or decisions of another individual, or even comprehend why we make some of the irrational decisions we make on a daily basis. If we cannot explain any of these things, how we can expect to explain an infinite God? God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. It is purely shortsighted and prideful to assume that we're supposed to grasp Him fully or assume that He owes us some sort of physical evidence for His existence. He owes us nothing, and we owe him everything. We know nothing more than what he has revealed to us in scripture and what He has inspired in us, His children, through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Beyond that we cannot really expect more, nor do we really require it. If we did we would have already been privileged that knowledge or given the tools to acquire it. I am not advocating a life of ignorance and I would be a big proponent for things like medical advancement, research, and the general progression of mankind. These are all things that within the scope of provisions I believe God provided we pursue. As long as we're not trying to "play god" and take His proper place, he gave us the resources, gifts, talents, and intellect that we have in a collective sense for a reason. Humanity is more than welcome to enrich one another and more specifically we're commanded to love one another.
Without straying too far from my main point, I wanted to round out this answer by pointing out that Christians and non-Christians alike struggle. Christians choose to rely on God to help us in times of struggles, and non-Christians decided at some point to shut God out of that equation. Luckily for them this decision isn't a permanent one, as long as you are alive and breathing, you're still privileged with the opportunity to dig deeper and ask yourself how far serving yourself has taken you. The Bible specifies that we cannot serve two masters in regards to God and money. It says, and I am paraphrasing, we are to hate one and love the other. It says that we cannot serve both God and money. Money is a medium of exchange, but this Bible is not trying to imply that anything involving the use of money is a sin. It can be used for good or bad things. Christians are called to manage their money wisely and to be good financial stewards. Not all Christians are destined to be poor, nor are they all supposed to become wealthy by the worlds standard. That is an individualized situation based on God's plan, our personal responsibility, and the landscape that God has placed us [or in other words our life station]. When the Bible speaks of serving money, it is speaking to looking out for yourself. Not only that it implies that you are appeasing the insatiable appetites of the flesh. Things like status in society, the false sense of security, luxuries, or any other number of motivations that money buys. It operates under the false pretense that the money will be our refuge, when in reality God is the only true refuge. Any money that a Christian owns, he/she knows is not even really theirs. Everything we own, including our individual selves, is property of God. He paid the price, He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins, and so the heavy price was paid on our behalf. This price was paid so you and I may have the opportunity to accept Him and not have to spend eternity in hell. Putting our trust in money, our own skills or judgment, or anything other than God for that matter; instead of the One who sacrificed it all for us is beyond foolishness. God is our provision, and ultimately we should rely on Him. He provides us with our clothes, food, shelter, water, and everything else including the money to buy the things that we need to survive. It bothers me when the world tries to tell us that people are "self-made millionaires or ". Nobody pulled things off by themselves, their success is a byproduct of God's will and the circumstances that He decided to place them in alongside the tools that He gave them to work. Perhaps I read too far into the label, but it is certain that nobody made it on their own accord. It is one of the many illusions that we tend to eat up. What an attractive idea to a carnal mind, a mind that isn't transformed by God's word would certainly be susceptible to notions as these.
It is easy to fall into the trap of materialism that the world says is okay, and I am the first to admit that I am not by any means immune to these illusions. I have done my share of misappropriating valuable time in focusing on material things of relatively trivial importance and not paid enough attention to those around me. Case in point would be the way we tend to gravitate to our phones/distractions even when we're in the presence of friends and family. We're missing out on treasured segments of life in order to check our e-mail, browse Facebook, or respond to a text. In this same way, sometimes we fall short of giving God the attention He deserves. I am guilty as charged. There are plenty of times when I know I should read scripture or write out an article to glorify God, but instead I find myself opening up another computer game or doing something all-together less important. Sure there is a time and place for everything, and God wants us to enjoy balance. In the end though He knows our hearts, and He also knows if we are trying to glorify, honor, and acknowledge Him in all the avenues, some of the avenues, or none. He knows if we are looking at our hobbies and examining even those in light of scripture, He knows if we have idols in our lives. I pray that He reveals to me the idols in my life and grants me the discernment and strength to get rid of those things that deter me from my relationship with Him.
You might ask "How do we react to all this information?" Assuming you agree with me, it's a matter of making decisions and taking actions based on God's commands instead of our own desires. It amounts to abandoning even the things that we hold dear, if they are ultimately pet sins that deter us from walking in righteousness. It means that we need to submit to God in both the easy ways and in the areas of difficulty for us. It doesn't mean you are expected to this at the drop of a hat, it will take work. God will work in you and through you, we just need to give Him the chance to do that. Pray that He grants us with insight to plug the leaks that are present in our life's sinking "ship". Make Him the captain and you will not regret it, if you trust Him to take that special position He will always be by your side. To be clear this doesn't mean that all of a sudden there will not be waves at sea, nor does it mean that the storms will instantly cease. What it means is that you've entrusted your well being to God and He is infinitely aware of all the obstacles, challenges, and maneuvers that need to be made on the way to your destination. This ship is not the Titanic folks, this metaphorical ship is not going to sink unless you let it. Death will only sink you if you haven't trusted Jesus Christ to be your "lifeguard" [also reads: Savior].
So what have we learned or reminded ourselves?
Now that we've discussed some of the aspects of what serving God looks like against serving oneself or worldly desires - I think we've come to know more about what a relationship with God is and isn't. God is our refuge, and He provides for us. God doesn't operate in the scope of human understanding, He doesn't owe us anything and He doesn't need us. The world's allure is typically rooted in the illusion of benefiting yourself. The reality is many of these allures end up destroying you and giving you other issues along the way. Disappointment, setbacks, and other negative consequences are the fruits of sinful behavior. Becoming a Christian doesn't mean these things won't ever happen to you, but it does mean that God will help you address those issues as they come about. Be aware that Christians are susceptible to straying and sometimes tend to fall into habits or desires that drift away from serving God when left unchecked. Always keep close to God in prayer and thanksgiving, we cannot allow complacency to take root in our lives. Always question your actions and habits that aren't in line with scripture and analyze whether something makes sense or not in this light.
"Everything is permissible - but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible - but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (NKJV).
In my next article segment I will kick it off by addressing the following question related to this topic:
What are the consequences of those services/decisions (ex: serving God vs serving worldly desires)
Then I will proceed to analyze other situations in the context of relationships/friendships, social/public behavior, and a variety of specific examples where God's ways can be illustrated and discuss why they are far superior to anything that we as humans can do on our own.
Thank you for stopping by our website once again, Jim and I are happy that you've taken time to read some of our work. Please submit any inquiries or suggestions you may have to our e-mail address: fatherspiritsonmail@yahoo.com. We would love to hear form you and check our e-mail on a regular basis. Let us know if our webpage has made a positive impact in your life or the life of a loved one. Our prayer is that the gospel message and ideas for Christian living would be shared in a powerful and accurate way. If you find any errors or take issue with any of the article topics our site covers, and feel as though we've neglected a clear scriptural teaching on an issue, please don't hesitate to let us know. While Jim and I try our best to make the site error-free, we are of course prone to human error and may have over-looked something of importance. Bringing this to our attention may ensure that others will not stumble because of it, but thankfully we haven't come across any major concerns so far! To God be the glory!
Your friend in Christ,
Victor Nunez (www.fatherspiritson.com)