You've seen these things, I'm sure. Just about anything you buy comes with some sort of manual, some sort of user's guide. It tells you how to use the thing. And the more complicated it is, the bigger the guide. These tell you how to put stuff together, how to operate it, and -- very important -- what not to do. You know, things like, "Don't do this or you could die." Good to know.
I've always contended that God's rules are His "user's guide" for the human being. That is, if you want to get the best for yourself, follow these rules. Interestingly, Rule #1 is "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt 22:37). Jesus lists that as "the great and first commandment" (Matt 22:38). Similarly, when God gave the Law to Moses, His first command was, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exo 20:3). So, love and worship God first. Got it.
Put these two ideas together. God's commands are for our best. His first command is He is to be first. Perhaps, then, you can see why our primary problem -- suppressing the truth about God (Rom 1:18) -- is so damaging. Failure to honor God literally makes us crazy (Rom 1:21). It leads to insane behavior (Rom 1:24-25) which leads to all manner of evil (Rom 1:28-32). But at the root -- at the start of this decline -- isn't just being bad. It is our failure to recognize and worship God. Every decay follows that starting point.
It begs the question, then, doesn't it? Do you want what's best for you? If so, is your first love God or is it something/someone else? Like, dare I say, you? Or other stuff? Is God your singular point of worship? If not, you're not doing God any damage, but you're certainly doing great harm to yourself, and that, dear reader, makes no sense at all.
1 comment:
I've always found the idea that Scripture isn't a rule book as nonsense. For one, it is full of rules. For two, if it truly is the word of God, and He's the One that created everything, shouldn't Be know how it best should operate?
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