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Growing up, I never heard good things about politicians. I’m pretty sure it's a universal thought that they will say whatever to win your vote, but usually never follow through once you've voted them in. I’ve also been told that none of them should be trusted. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone in person that I would trust with my future, so trusting someone that I’ve only seen through a manipulated news source seems pretty far-fetched, anyway.
In other words, I’m not into politics.
One thing that has intrigued me about American politics, however, is everyone’s obsession with Donald Trump. Republicans believe that he is a Christian. Democrats typically believe that he’s an atheist.
After reading the Bible for myself, however, I would suggest that you not worry about whether or not Trump is a Christian. If you read the bible and actually see what it takes to be a true Christian and see how the disciples lived before us, you will see why it's very important that we just focus on ourselves.
Nevertheless, what I’ve noticed is that depending on what we want to believe, we justify or condemn Trump’s words. So when Trump says something very vulgar and inappropriate - which usually happens daily - people who are in favor of him say that his words were taken “out of context", or simply choose to ignore them. And when Trump appears to be right, people who are not in favor of him say that his words were also taken “out of context.”
We use these tactics to protect the image that we want to keep of Donald Trump in our minds. So no matter what kind of person he actually is, we'll manipulate him to fit into whatever narrative we want to believe about him.
What I’ve realized is that we do the same thing with Jesus.
Recently, I had someone that reads these devotionals say that I took a passage out of context. In this passage, Solomon is saying that when we reject the wisdom and instruction of God, disaster will strike and that God will not be there to help us.
"But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices." - Proverbs 1:25-31 KJV
See, we look for ways to protect our idea of who we want God to be instead of who He actually is. Because it doesn't say "thus saith the Lord", we overlook what Solomon, who got all of his wisdom from God, is saying and continue to believe that God doesn't care that much about how we live and that once our sin leads us into destruction, He is required to bail us out. So let's explore another passage:
"And the Lord said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in the midst of it. And to the others He said in my hearing, Follow [the man with the ink bottle] through the city and smite; let not your eye spare, neither have any pity. Slay outright the elderly, the young man and the virgin, the infant and the women; but do not touch or go near anyone on whom is the mark. Begin at My sanctuary. So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple [who did not have the Lord’s mark on their foreheads]. And He said to [the executioners], Defile the temple and fill its courts with the slain. Go forth! And they went forth and slew in the city. And while they were slaying them and I was left, I fell upon my face and cried, Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all that is left of Israel in Your pouring out of Your wrath and indignation upon Jerusalem? Then said He to me, The iniquity and guilt of the house of Israel and Judah are exceedingly great; the land is full of blood and the city full of injustice and perverseness; for they say, The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see [what we are doing]. And as for Me, My eye will not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their wicked doings upon their own heads." - Ezekiel 9:4-10 AMPC
Even people who don't read the bible have heard the story of Noah and the flood that killed everyone on the planet, as well as the story of Sodom and Gomorra where God killed everyone by fire for their lifestyles of sin. So for those of us who do read the bible, it doesn't take much time to see that God expects our full obedience to Him and that living life any other way leads to death.
Similar to what we do with Trump, in order to maintain the image of God that we have in our minds, we manipulate His words. Whenever we read scriptures that contradict our understanding of God, we say that they are taken “out of context” so we can continue to form God into the life that we want to live and not the life that He requires.
This mentality has paralyzed the body of Christ. The body of Christ has become useless and ineffective because instead of conforming our lives to the example He set, we conform it to the idea of God that we want to believe. Now, instead of following God into serious, uncomfortable situations and showing our devotion and commitment to Him, we simply claim that God is with us while we continue to live for ourselves and vacation in the Bahamas.
"Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it)." - Romans 1:25 AMPC
Many people couldn't become followers of Jesus because it was very difficult. The truth is, Jesus said that the road to heaven is very difficult. So if we aren’t willing to put God over everything in our lives and live each day for Him, we won't see Heaven.
"Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it. But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it." - Matthew 7:13-14 AMPC
Focusing on words and manipulating scripture might make you feel better for the moment, but you will still lack peace that surpasses all understanding. The truth can be extremely hard to accept at times, but it does set you free! If we are looking for an easy life that doesn't require much sacrifice and commitment then maybe we should join a yoga club instead of calling ourselves Christians.
Question of the day: Do you understand the context of the statement, “Depart from me, I never knew you”?