As humans, we place a high priority on happiness. Did you ever think about whether God cares if we are happy? Now, I'm not saying God doesn't care about us. He certainly does. But He has an eternal perspective on what's good for us, while we have to work at looking on things eternal, rather than being caught up in the here and now.
I would appreciate it if anyone could tell me if they have ever found in the Bible where God says He wants us to be happy. I know He wants us to prosper and be in good health. [3John 1:2] I know He says He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. [Romans 8:28] But, what does it mean to "for our good?" What God knows is for our good might not be what we think is our good.
Here's an example from everyday life. We parents want only good things for our children. We also want them to be happy. However, if we say to little Suzy, "Honey, don't play with that knife," she may say, "But it makes me happy to play with this knife." Are we going to let her play with the knife, so she will be happy, or are we going to take it away from her, even if it might hurt her tiny little fingers when we have to pry her grip off of the handle? Well, of course, it's the latter, because we know what is for Suzy's own good better than Suzy does.
I believe God wants us to be content, not necessarily happy. If we find ourselves in circumstances that we consider unpleasant, He is willing to partner with us to change those circumstances, even though our situation is almost always a result of our own choices, whether now or sometime in the past. He doesn't want us to redefine our beliefs of who He is and what His will is, in order to fit what we want to do about our present circumstances.
For example, God has made it abundantly clear in His Word that sex is for marriage only, not before marriage, not with someone else's spouse, not because it "feels good" so you just gotta do it, not because everyone else is doing it. However, I find professing Christians all the time who are in a sexual relationship, even living with their partner, and they are not married. They have twisted and re-framed their beliefs to fit their lifestyle, instead of conforming their lifestyle to God's Word.
What about all of the divorce among Christians these days? God has stated that He hates divorce, and the exception He makes is: If one's spouse has committed adultery, then that person is free to divorce the unfaithful one, and can remarry. He also says that if a believer is married to an unbeliever, and the unbeliever wants to leave, the believer should let them do so. In that case, I'm not so sure if the believer is then free to remarry -- unless the unbeliever does, because then the unbeliever would have been unfaithful. It's highly unlikely that the departing unbeliever would live out his/her days in a celibate lifestyle, so it would be a mute point, in all but the most unusual of cases. Lots of Christians these days seem to think that if they are unhappy in their marriage, God would want them to be happy, so they should be able to just break the contract, walk away, and seek happiness with someone else. I don't see anything in God's Word that would support this belief, and I am concerned for those who hold it.
Just some of my musings on a Saturday, before I leave for a dogsitting job with Bob Barker, the sweetest little girl chihuahua I know.
No comments:
Post a Comment