Thought for the Day

These verses tell us that those who seek to live without God and without other people are not only selfish, but they also seek their own way and refuse all wisdom and good judgment.

Verse 1 - This verse gives us a description of one who has abandoned society to pursue his own way and do his own thing. This is sinful, since God created man for two purposes. One, He desires a personal relationship with us; and two, He desires us to live together in harmony so we will be a help and blessing to each other. After God created Adam, He said it was not good that man should live alone. So He made him a companion and helper. "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18).

The Lord is the inventor of marriage and families. In today's society, the devil is trying to destroy families in many different ways. Homosexuals are trying to redefine the family unit by sanctioning men to live with men in a sexual relationship (as well as women with women). The Biblical definition of a family is a husband and a wife who procreate by having children. This is the core family. Certainly when a member of this family dies or leaves, the others are still considered family. Some families also include others in their circle by inviting them to live with them. This may include an extended family member, or those who are adopted.

The devil also seeks to separate families by divorce. It is sad that most divorces are caused by selfishness. Each party wants his own way and is not serving the other. As Christians, we must love each other and lay our lives down for one another. If this is not done at the basic level in a marriage, then our Christianity is hollow. In our society, doing our own thing is glamorized. We have all heard statements like: "I should be fulfilled." "I should not waste my life in a bad marriage." "I should not put up with the things in my mate that I do not like." "I have my rights and they should come first." These are just a few arguments that the enemy uses to make his case for divorce.

As Christians, our goal should not be to please ourselves, but to please Him who gave His life for us. If we are truly committed to God, we will seek to obey and serve Him in all of our ways. The first place that our Christian love gets tested is in our homes. If we cannot love one another there, how then, can we love others outside our homes? 1 Corinthians 13 gives us a definition of what true Christian love is. The word "love" is used loosely in the world. It usually means an emotional feeling, a desire to be with someone, and can even be mere physical lust for someone. This is not the definition of God's love. He loves even when He is not loved. He laid His life down so that we might have life. God is a giver not a taker. As His children, we are challenged to be like Him. We can only do this as we allow Him to live in and through us.

Verses 2-3 - These verses describe many a person in today's society. They have no delight in understanding God's ways or even listening to another's opinion. They are prideful and revel in their personal opinions. A self-absorbed person who serves only himself will go deeper into evil, as selfishness leads to many other sins. The baseness of his own heart will cause him to commit overt sins that will eventually be seen by all. Many of our public figures have had to endure shame when their secret sins were exposed. We can avoid this kind of life, if we seek God and seek to do His will. When we serve and obey God, we will serve those around us in love.