Tag: self-interest

When Blessings Lead to Spiritual Adultery

Hosea 10-14

Chapter 10 of the book of Hosea, implements an analogy of Israel as a thriving vine. The more fruit it bore, the more Israel used its prosperity to betray Yahweh, turning blessings into the means of idolatry. God gave them the Promised Land, and they used the blessing that he gave them to make other gods. Instead of gratitude, they responded with spiritual adultery.

The Israelites’ hearts were divided, pulled in different directions by possessions and self-interest. “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13, REV). Israel never gave God their whole heart. And so they couldn’t find Him. God was ruled out of the life of Israel and now the same thing is happening here in our own nation. We see our country’s leaders supporting and encouraging sinful actions.

“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me; my compassion is aroused.” (Hosea 11:8, REV). Yahweh doesn’t want to destroy His people. He didn’t want to then, and he doesn’t now. But again and again, Israel turns elsewhere. In chapter 12, they make a covenant with Assyria looking for safety in the arms of another nation, not in God. Maybe that is the way we should treat some of the things in our lives. We tend to distance ourselves from the thought that we are creating an alliance with things daily like our phones instead of God. 

“I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.” (Hosea 13:5, REV). The idea from Hosea 13:5 is that when we have an abundance of conveniences it’s hard to see the things we need. In the States most of our problems are “first world problems” which is a polite way of saying they’re not problems at all, just inconveniences. Our abundance and ease of living is one of the many reasons that America is struggling morally in our present time. With too many conveniences, too many options, or too much time -it’s easy to forget what you need.

“According to their pasture, so were they filled. They were filled, and their heart was exalted, so they forgot me.” (Hosea 13:6, REV). Let us not forget our God and turn foolishly toward the things of this world. 

Application Questions:

Do you prioritize things like work, school, social media, TV, over your family, time reading God’s word, or time helping other people?

What are some distractions that are pulling you away from God?

Who are a couple people in your life who can keep you accountable in spending less time on the things of this world and more time on things of God?

-Bridger Grable

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The Way Towards Unity

Philippians 2:1-11

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In Philippians 2 we find our memory verse for this week, in which Paul exhorts the church at Philippi towards unity: “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind (Philippians 2:1-2, NRSV). In the verses that follow, Paul gives the Philippians some instruction on how they can work towards achieving that unity.

 

Paul’s advice for the Philippians is to pursue humility in order to achieve unity. Humility is to hold one’s self or self-interest in a low or modest regard. In practicing humility, those in Philippi would be placing the interests of others and the agenda of God above their own desires and concerns. This lowering of one’s self would allow room for the Gospel to take over each member’s life and for the church to come together for the purpose furthering the Gospel in their community. In this, they would be unified.

 

But Paul doesn’t stop at giving them some ideal to chase after; he offers a model to copy—a perfect one. Jesus had more reason than anyone to pursue self-interests: he was like God. When tempted to have all the kingdoms of the world put under his rule without having to suffer first, he refused (Matt. 4:8-10). Jesus always subjected himself to God. God’s agenda was the only one he cared about—even if it meant torture and death. Paul called the Philippians to have this same mentality, and we should too.

 

Each one of us has objects we hold as valuable (physical and otherwise), some of them justifiably and others not. We have families and jobs, both of which are important and should not be neglected. We also have ideas, opinions, and agendas that we might say (or at least our actions would suggest) are just as important. What we must remember, and what our actions must mirror, is that all of the things we find value in must pale (greatly) in comparison to the worth we place on the Gospel—God’s agenda.

 

Can you image what the Church would look like if we were all unified around and living out this common idea? What a sight that would be…will be.

– Joel Fletcher