FROM THE PULPIT YOU ARE FULLY RESPONSIBLE Text: Rom. 2:1a Therefore, you have no excuse or defense or justification, O man…. From the days of Adam, it has been in the habit of Man to always find a way of absolving oneself of every action or inaction of his whenever the chips are down. Passing the buck is often seen as a clever way of exonerating oneself from any ill-fated action or decision taken, all in a desperate bid to secure a soft landing instead of owning up and plead for mercy and forgiveness. Rather than waiting to play the ostrich, we can be careful enough to weigh all our actions and inactions in line with the Word of God before executing then for in Him actions are weighed (1Sam 2:3). In Colossians 4:6 the Word of God counsels, ‘Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.’ NIV. We should not also be ruled by sentiments or allow emotions to move us in considering every piece of advice irrespective of whichever direction it is coming from. Job was a man that God testified for his faithfulness and righteousness. When the enemy struck in his life (which was however by God’s permission) his wife who supposed to be a supporter was the one that shot the very arrow that would have brought him down by asking him to curse God and die. (Job 2:9). Thank God Job faithfully persisted and lived up to God’s testimony concerning him. Another example that will be very useful here is that of Haman, a man at the corridors of power who, out of mere selfishness was bent on destroying Mordecai and his entire Jewish people. When he tabled the matter before his wife, she advised him to prepare a gallows and influence the king to approve the death of Mordecai so he could be hung on the gallows. What type of wife are you? What type of husband are you? Do you complement each other’s efforts or is it a case of blind leading the blind? Still in the case of Haman, we read from the scriptures that adopting his wife’s counsel, Haman made the gallows but when the odds turned against him, the same wife gave him this shocking reply: “And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, if Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.”(Est. 6:13). Yes, he did fall before him as he (Haman) was the one that paid the supreme visit to the gallows (Est.7:9-10). Again and again, who is your confidant? No matter how close the friendship, how intimate the relationship and how emotional the attachment, if he or she cannot speak life, we owe ourselves the duty and the honor to say, Nay I did not so learn Christ--- Eph. 4:20. LET THE WORD OF GOD DWELL IN YOU RICHLY IN ALL WISDOM
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 13:03:39 +0000