A motto that was taught to us as engineers was “Never A Best Way, Always a Better Way.” It was to be an incentive to always look for a more efficient way to do things or to continue to improve a product. In my case as an Industrial and Management Engineer, it was my job to find a better combination of men and machines, applying principles of “Human Engineering” to a work place. The “room for improvement” is an unending room!
But, when we try to apply that engineering motto to life principles which are laid down in the Bible by God, the sovereign Creator of all things, we get ourselves in a lot of trouble. You see “As for God, His way is perfect…” (Psa. 18:30 KJV). You can’t improve on something that is already perfect. Obviously any change from what God has done or has dictated will be in a downward, damaging, degrading, direction! For example, God laid down the standard for marriage of one man and one woman in providing a wife for Adam. Any deviations from that are in rebellion against our Creator and thus sin, and will have negative consequences. We see throughout Scripture, accounts of polygamy, adultery, homosexuality, incest, and in all cases they brought great problems. God sent angels to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for its immorality–namely homosexuality (Gen. 18,19). When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they were to remove the pagan idol worshipers that lived there. They didn’t completely obey and as a result faced constant conflict with the Amorites, Canaanite, Perizites, Jebsites, etc. They also ended up entering into some of the same pagan idol worship. We read repeatedly in the book of Judges, “In those days there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). King David’s family suffered throughout David’s life for his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. Solomon created all sorts of problems, such as idolatry, by multiplying wives and concubines. (For a write-up of the lessons he learned, read the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.) A man in the church in Corinth was delivered over “to Satan for the destruction of his flesh” for his incestuous affair (I Cor. 5:1-5).
God, who made us, also gave us an instruction manual on how we are to operate efficiently. It is called the Bible. If we are to have a joy-filled, purposeful, satisfying life of significance, we must follow His directions and His principles. When we substitute our own, we are asking for trouble–and we will get it. God loves us and wants to bless us but can’t when we violate His ways. For the past 50 years in our great nation we have been eliminating the Bible and prayer and public display of the Christian faith, trying to confine it to the walls of our churches, and even then being told what we cannot preach about or we could be charged with a hate crime! Chaplains are being told not to pray in the name of “Jesus,” for it might offend someone. We are to be tolerant of everyone else’s religious views and practices but they don’t seem to have to be tolerant of ours! Folks, what’s happened to our country?!! There’s a reason that the United States has been such a great benefactor to the world, always there to help others in their time of need. God has blessed this nation and has mightily used it. But, can that continue when we are turning our back on Him?
God says that life is precious and that it begins at conception (Psa. 51:5). To take the life of a child in the womb is murder, and we have murdered some 53 million babies in our country since the fateful Roe versus Wade decision of 1973. How do you suppose God looks upon that? God’s Word is to be our standard not the whims of our politicians who want to make “changes,” thinking they have a “better way.” How can we say, as many do at the end of their speech, and “God bless America,” when we are purposely violating so many of the principles and commandments of His Word? The Bible says, “Blessed is that nation whose God is the LORD…” (Psa. 33:12), and “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Pr. 14:34). Our nation is being disgraced by many of the decisions that have been made in recent years and months. How can we expect God to bless us and not judge us? If He does not judge us, He would have to “apologize” to Sodom and Gomorrah and many others that saw his hand of judgment for their immoral, wicked, rebellious behavior in the face of God.
We need to remember that God is God and we are not. Anything that is contrary to God’s character and His Word, is sin, and has consequences. “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Pr. 14:12). Remember the story of Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s sons? God had set a pattern for offerings by providing coats of animal skins for Adam and Eve when they sinned. Abel, following God’s pattern, brought an animal sacrifice to offer to the Lord (Gen. 4:4), but Cain brought fruit from the ground (Gen. 4:3). It is likely that before he disobeyed Adam brought offerings to God of the fruit of the ground he tilled in the Garden, but now sin had occurred and God required the sacrifice of an innocent substitute, and the shedding of blood. Cain was proceeding as if nothing had happened. Abel, by his offering, was admitting that sin had occurred and that the shedding of blood was need to satisfy God’s justice. Cain was just doing his own thing (and you can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip!). God, of course, accepted Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s. Cain became angry and rather than repent when given opportunity by God (Gen. 4:7), “rose up against Abel, his brother and killed him” (v. 8). As a result Cain became a vagrant and a wanderer the rest of his days. Obedience costs, but disobedience costs much, much more. In the New Testament we read again of Cain in reference to false teachers who think their way is better than God’s way. It says in Jude 11: “Woe to them! for they have gone the way of Cain”
“As for God, His way is perfect” (Psa. 18:30). Woe to those who ignore God’s way and try their own, thinking there is a “better way.” They have “gone the way of Cain.” Remember the old television program, Father Knows Best? Well, HE really does! And there is not a better way!
Forever His,
Pastor Dave
Wisdom of The Week 