As most of us do at some point and time, I was thinking about how differently my outcomes could have been if I had made some different choices, both career and personal. So when I say that I went to church today, that was really loaded with a lot of alternatives that were going through my head---specifically the thought of spending the day on the beach. But I decided to stay the course and go to church.
I love my church. Being a part of a community of believers is very important to me. What makes this important is the shared understanding of what Phil Robertson- the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty family- calls "Biblical Correctness". Biblical principles are the foundation to my views and to be in a church that goes to the Bible to articulate why certain topic should be discussed a certain way or managed a certain way is important.
Today we had a guest speaker. I have never heard him before, and didnt know anything about him other than I know that there are some specific criteria about the type of speaker that will be invited to speak at my church. And this man did not disappoint. The topic of his sermon was "Our Conviction". He gave several examples of why we have our convictions and what the world system is set in place to do regarding pulling us way from what we believe about God and our walk as believers and followers of Christ.
So, as I reflect on several things, I realize that what causes us to be challenged in our convictions is temptation. It comes in many forms and in many ways. It is not always the obvious right or wrong, but temptation most of the time looks like the better option. It looks like the easier option and it markets a better outcome.
Temptation has the job of trying to convince you that you can outsmart the plan of God. In this way, making wrong look right is the ultimate goal. And it is impossible to hold on to both wrong and right at the same time. So temptation is what forces you to feel like you have to choose, it becomes an either/or dynamic. This is when you begin to feel the urge that a choice must be made quickly, before you miss the opportunity and before you talk your self into something else. Anything that requires you to rush, might be something to take notice of whether it is leading you in the right way or the wrong way. Ask yourself, what is the urgency? If the urgency is not related to pleasing God or obeying God's Word, then more than likely it is temptation trying to pull you away from what is right.
Since it is temptation's job to look like, not only a good idea, but the best idea, this means that many times scripture or doing right will seem to be the outcome. For example, Sarah had already been given a promise from God. One that she laughed at because it seemed impossible. It was not that she didn't want what God had promised, but in her trying to rationalize how it could be, she decided to help the process along. She decided to act without instruction from God. If God could send the messengers to tell her and her husband what God was going to do, then obviously if God had instructions for them those would have been given. But without instructions Sarah figured she would figure it out herself.
Temptation would have to believe that God needs you to figure out how to make what God has already said come to reality. This is not true. God is fully aware of the details needed for what God has planned for your life. God has all of the details under control.
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