Our Imaginary God
Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.~The Apostle John
If God just so happens to agree with almost everything you want to do, you're worshipping an idol. This is what God says,
"My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts."
King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, second only to Jesus in wisdom, also said,
"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not to your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths."
Most of the time what we think is best won't match what God thinks is best. Why would it be? Do we see all ends or know every situation fully?
We think we do.
We think we're so logical, so full of common sense and experience, that we can handle almost anything and anyone in any situation. We think we are as smart as God. But C.S. Lewis shows us our foolishness.
"In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that--and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison--you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. This raises a terrible question. How is that people who are quite obviously eaten up with Pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves as very religious? I am afraid it means they are worshipping an imaginary God."
An imaginary God.
This is the God that agrees with almost everything you say, or almost everything you feel. The God that feels as strongly about what you're considering as you do. This is where we must be careful, hyper vigilant.
How do we do it? By denying ourselves completely. It means we have to be honest about what we feel so strongly, then wait until our strong feelings subside. Unless we do that, we will deceive ourselves. We will think the God of the universe agrees with everything we plan.
If God just so happens to agree with almost everything you want to do, you're worshipping an idol. This is what God says,
"My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts."
King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, second only to Jesus in wisdom, also said,
"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not to your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths."
Most of the time what we think is best won't match what God thinks is best. Why would it be? Do we see all ends or know every situation fully?
We think we do.
We think we're so logical, so full of common sense and experience, that we can handle almost anything and anyone in any situation. We think we are as smart as God. But C.S. Lewis shows us our foolishness.
"In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that--and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison--you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. This raises a terrible question. How is that people who are quite obviously eaten up with Pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves as very religious? I am afraid it means they are worshipping an imaginary God."
An imaginary God.
This is the God that agrees with almost everything you say, or almost everything you feel. The God that feels as strongly about what you're considering as you do. This is where we must be careful, hyper vigilant.
How do we do it? By denying ourselves completely. It means we have to be honest about what we feel so strongly, then wait until our strong feelings subside. Unless we do that, we will deceive ourselves. We will think the God of the universe agrees with everything we plan.
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