“It is not enough to fear God, we must also love him: fear will deter us from evil; love will lead us to obedience.” (Clarke)
Have I minimised evil and what it is for myself? Thus allowing myself to do things that are fundamentally wrong, but it's okay because it's not that bad. It could be worse. It's fine. And in turn, I'm fine.
The problem is in minimising evil, I am also trivialising it. I'm making it something it is not. I'm allowing it in my life, and in turn, it does affect me. It affects the way I see people, the way I treat people, the way I behave, my reasoning, my judgement, my relationship with God, and others. In the end, it all leads to destruction and placing "what I deem to be right" above what God has deemed to be right. The arrogance.
Going back to the quote before, which is in relation to Psalm 112:2, why would I deter from evil if I have deemed that the evil is not actually evil? Am I willing to submit myself to what God has deemed to be evil and correct my course? Am I willing to humble myself before Him and trust that He knows more than I? I want to say yes, yet there is something rising up in me in defiance. Wanting to defend myself. Wanting to explain it away that it's not so bad. Yet I know that I am wrong.
Lord, I submit my heart and will to You. I know my thinking on what evil is is wrong. I try to make allowances. I try to redefine. Explain it away. But in the end, all I'm doing is hurting myself and those I care about. Holy Spirit work in me. Renew my mind. Renew my heart. Renew my soul. Quench the fires of rebellion in me. Soothe the inflamed flesh and heal my inner man. I love You, and I choose to follow You, not for what I hope to receive, but because of the beauty that You are and the beauty contained within Your Word and this world You've created. Comfort my contrite heart and form me into the man You've made. You are worth of it all, and You love me.
My will, be a dead man. (Project 86)
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