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Lou Coleman-Yeboah
By Lou Coleman-Yeboah
Sure, you did! You knew what you was about to do was wrong, but you did it anyway. So what do you mean you didn’t mean to? What kind of fool do you think God is? Do you think you can do something that he says is wrong and you won’t have consequences in your life? Scripture is clear: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows this he will also reap. Doing right is not an option in the Christian life. James says in [James 4:17] “Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, Sins. No matter what others do, you know what you have to do. You cannot afford to live the life that people are living simply because it is the acceptable thing to do. I tell you “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread””Look before you leap.”
Listen, the only way to grow is to take full responsibility for your actions. Scripture clearly shows that believers sin and must take responsibility for their own thoughts and actions. It is far better and far more biblical to say, “I sinned and I take full personal responsibility for all my thoughts, words and deeds. I cannot blame my circumstances, my friends, my loved ones, the world, my flesh, the power of sin within me, or even the devil. I must admit that I chose to sin and I confess it. I did it, no one else made it me do it. Now I must face the consequences.”
What does this mean? It means, in the final analysis, you do right because it’s right to do right. Besides, you don’t want to mess around with God. God is a consuming fire! “The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.” [2 Samuel 6:7]. He died, instantly. Why? Because he did wrong when he knew to do right. The Bible is full of stories like this. Remember the golden calf incident at Mt. Sinai, recorded in [Exodus 32]? Only because Moses pleaded with God to remember his covenant mercy did God decide not to destroy the entire nation of Israel after they offered unacceptable worship, [doing wrong when you know to do right], by making an image of him in the form of a cud-chewing stud. Even after Moses pleaded with God, they still didn’t get off scot free, about 3000 died and the rest was struck with a plague. When you know to do right, do it!
The underlying: A wheelbarrow doesn’t choose which direction it will go. It moves in whatever direction the person pushing it decides is best. A wheelbarrow doesn’t argue with the person pushing it or try to choose its own path. A wheelbarrow simply goes where the person pushing directs. With God’s Spirit controlling us, we don’t have to try to do the right things. We don’t have to try to obey God’s commands. We don’t have to try to guess which direction God wants us to go. [Ezekiel 36:27] says, “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” These verses were written to the nation of Israel, but God’s promise applies to all who claim Him as God. The message in this verse is that God has placed His Spirit in each of His children and this Spirit will move us to do right and to obey God. God’s Holy Spirit will guide us in the direction that God knows is best for us. And when the Spirit moves us, it is up to us to obey. It is up to us to go in the direction in which He is moving us. The Holy Spirit will always move us in the right direction. He will always move us to obey God and do God’s will. We don’t have to move ourselves [make ourselves go in the right direction]. We simply need to allow God’s Spirit to move us in the direction that God know is best for us.
“But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.” [2Corinthians 13:7].
May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched “
And this is my prayer,” Paul wrote, “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness.” [Philippians 1:9]
