SCRIPTURE: “I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received,” (Ephesians 4:1 (HCSB)
QUOTE: “You cannot rationalize what is not rationale to begin with- as if lying were called “truthization”. There is no way to obtain more truth for a proposition by bribery, flattery, or the most passionate argument. You can make more people believe the proposition, but you cannot Make it more true.” —Eliezer Yudkowsky
NOTE:
Leaders must be cautious not to interpret circumstances subjectively in order to support what have been personal mistakes. When we take matters into our own hands, God sometimes allows us to struggle in our own darkness. However, God’s purpose is always for our own good—to teach us to trust Him rather than putting our confidence in our own abilities. He wants us to consult Him in everything so He can direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Then He will enable us to discern what is His “good, pleasing, and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).
ILLUSTRATION:
Abraham wandered in the wilderness of his own mistakes for thirteen silent years. He was 86 years old when Ishmael was born, and it wasn’t until he was 99 that God again appeared to him and spoke directly about His perfect will (Genesis 16:16; 17:1). Strange as it seems, all during this period of time it appears that Abraham actually thought that Ishmael was the promised seed—that he had done the right thing in fathering a child through Hagar. Abraham’s nervous laugh is that of a man who for 13 years thought he was right and suddenly discovered he was wrong Genesis 17: 17. It was only logical for him to defend himself and his son at this moment—to question God about the event and to plead for Ishmael. God was teaching Abraham a painful lesson.
REFLECTION:
How can we guard against erroneously interpreting circumstances as well as Scripture in order to support our desires that may seem to be right, but in fact are wrong?
TWO YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: 1Chr 25 – 26, Psalm 49