The Question

One question that my students ask that I always try to re-direct is: "Mr. Iten, what do you think about . . . ?" The re-direction? The question should be: "What does God say about . . . ?" Without even thinking about it, I believe we have reached a point in the church where we are elevating our opinion to the point where it has become more authoritative than God's truth. (And as I've said before, God doesn't have opinions.) And like leaven in the loaf of bread, such an attitude of self-deification will soon permeate the whole loaf. Some of it comes from the pressures we face from our culture--the names they call us when we side with God's Word and not their whims. And don't believe for a moment that any one out there believes that "the majority is always right." What he or she believes is that if the majority agrees with me, it's always right. God who knows the heart of mankind--desperately wicked--has established a morality for the good of man and culture. God who knows humanity's desire to please itself at any cost has established a morality that is designed to keep man from self-destruction and the abuse and harm done to others by selfish decision-making. And when the church--Christians--begin to place their opinion above God's declaration, they contribute to the harm and decline of the culture--not to mention the harm they do to their walk with Him. If you are struggling with a moral issue, immerse yourself in the Word. Seek the thoughts of those you respect? Sure. But remember they are human--so test their conclusions against the Word itself. That is not a sign of disrespect--all godly men and women would pray that you do so. It is a sign of loyal love for God--a deep desire to please Him through loving obedience. You cannot walk hand-in-hand with God while walking on a path of your own design and construction. "Can two walk together unless they be in agreement?" And God doesn't need to agree with you; you need to be in agreement with Him. Walk in the light as He is in the light.

Remember the question is: "What does God say about . . .?"