God's Interests

He rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's" (Mark 8:33).

I am becoming more and more convinced that this is the primary failure of all humans everywhere and, as such, the primary approach of Satan. Think about it. What is the most common complaint about God? "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Never, "What does God think of it?" Israel, after being freed from slavery in Egypt, complained that God was leading them into difficult circumstances. Never, "What is God doing?" I recently had an exchange with someone about how God tells us to do things He knows we can't accomplish. "Why would He do that?" was the sentiment. "Doesn't seem fair!" That, of course, is the complaint of someone focusing on the interests of Man, not God. If you look around you, I think you'll start to see it everywhere.

Jesus went on to talk about this further.

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it" (Mark 8:34-35).

Now that's a little tough in the standard human thinking. "Deny himself"? "Lose his life"? "Take up his cross"? "How is any of that reasonable? I thought Jesus loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life." And then, sadly, you find that it's a running theme in Scripture.

"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26).

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves (Phil 2:3).

Lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit (Eph 4:22).

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self ... (2 Tim 3:1-2).

Turns out that the Bible is opposed to placing our minds on the interests of Man over the interests of God. Go figure! And yet, I venture to guess that we do it every day.