RICHARD’S REMARKS – DARE TO BE DIFFERENT During the period of the Judges, we find that the Israelites repeated a process over and over again. They would turn away from God and live in sin; as an avenue of Divine retribution God would allow another nation to oppress His people; the Israelites would eventually repent and pray to God for deliverance; God would raise up a judge (deliverer) to liberate His people. There are two important pieces of information that were extremely influential in this process. First of all, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). This final verse in the book of Judges provides a good summary of the entire period. By doing what was right in their own eyes, they turned away from God. Secondly, during the previous conquest of Canaan, the people failed to completely follow God’s instructions to completely drive out or destroy the inhabitants of the land. As a result, they became thorns in the Israelites’ sides and their pagan influences became an ongoing snare (see Judges 2:3). What was the end result of these factors? – God’s people became more and more like those around them. They failed to be different. [Interestingly, the period of the Judges came to a close when God’s people demanded a king, saying, “…Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5, emp. add.).] Of course, there are a number of aspects of Christian living – one of which is to be different. “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?...Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:14, 17-18). “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Eph. 5:11). This does not mean that we can have no associations with people in the world “…then you would need to go out of the world” (1 Cor. 5:10). However, we must be careful of the influence others have on us remembering that “…Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33). In other words, we must maintain our difference from the ways of the world. We must dare to be different even though some will not understand and may even speak evil of us (see. 1 Pet. 4:4). To be different from the world we must keep our focus and desire on doing God’s will. We must firmly believe and subscribe to the words of Jeremiah, “I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). We must humbly submit ourselves (along with our own will) to the will of the Father. After all, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Prov. 14:12). So, let’s adopt the attitude of the psalmist, “Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right and I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:128). Such an attitude and approach (when put into action) will keep us different from the world. Let’s not be like the Israelites during the period of the Judges. Instead, let’s dare to be different.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 08:15:44 +0000
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