Woe
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Isaiah 5:20 ESV
How do we know the right thing to do? It can be quite confusing. For Christians it should be quite easy, yet it is hard. Everyone knows the command to love other people. But then the question is how do we love other people. Is it loving to tell someone the truth? Is it loving to correct someone? Is it kind to be honest? Is it humble to hold a strong conviction?
How do we understand what is evil and what is good? First, we must understand that these definitions come from outside of us. No single person or group of people can make this determination. Thus, the first posture required to understand what is good and evil is humility before God. We must acknowledge that His ways are above our ways.
Second, we must be brave. It is easy to agree with God when He agrees with us. It is much more difficult to subvert our earthly thinking when God’s ways contradict our ways. We often react to differences of opinion with God in three ways. We disobey, rationalize our opinion as actually being Godly, or we trust God and hold to His truth.
We see our culture eschewing the things of God. In reality, it has been doing so for decades. Now we are noticing more. This should cause us to deeply look at the consistency of our own thinking and mindset. Let us be truthful and honest and truthful with inwardly.
What are the things in our lives that we have mixed up? Where have our priorities gone awry? Personal life, church, work? What good must we believe to overcome the evil?
How do we know the right thing to do? It can be quite confusing. For Christians it should be quite easy, yet it is hard. Everyone knows the command to love other people. But then the question is how do we love other people. Is it loving to tell someone the truth? Is it loving to correct someone? Is it kind to be honest? Is it humble to hold a strong conviction?
How do we understand what is evil and what is good? First, we must understand that these definitions come from outside of us. No single person or group of people can make this determination. Thus, the first posture required to understand what is good and evil is humility before God. We must acknowledge that His ways are above our ways.
Second, we must be brave. It is easy to agree with God when He agrees with us. It is much more difficult to subvert our earthly thinking when God’s ways contradict our ways. We often react to differences of opinion with God in three ways. We disobey, rationalize our opinion as actually being Godly, or we trust God and hold to His truth.
We see our culture eschewing the things of God. In reality, it has been doing so for decades. Now we are noticing more. This should cause us to deeply look at the consistency of our own thinking and mindset. Let us be truthful and honest and truthful with inwardly.
What are the things in our lives that we have mixed up? Where have our priorities gone awry? Personal life, church, work? What good must we believe to overcome the evil?
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