Frivolity

"If we walked in the Spirit and let Him teach us, instead of teaching ourselves, we would not be tripped up."

THERE ARE elements of the Word of God that speak to the culture of that day and of that group of people, speaking of cities and nations, Jewish and Gentile. There are also, in a few places, what are the opinions of men, based on situations they faced in that generation. Thinking even wider, we have statements by those who lived those stories, statements which are not God speaking and that do not express His will. We must study with the Spirit of God to know the differences.

The book of Job is greatly misinterpreted, its most famous quote being the words of a man whose children had died, and livestock had been destroyed. He was in extremely ill health and had his wife berating him, at that moment. We overlook His heart for God, that He did not turn away from Him; we look past His cultural lifestyle; it is an ancient book, and do not see that what we should notice is his repentance in the final chapter. God spoke to him, and he heard it. What a fantastic thing! He had no written Scriptures, that we know of. It is commonly reported He was not of the nation of Israel. Yet, he heard the God of heaven speaking and, we are told, was faithful to worship through sacrifices.

The Lord giveth good things and taketh away bad things is the truth of the Word of God. That statement Job made, as written, was never meant to become negative, false doctrine.

“Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” (James 5:11 KJV)

The apostle Paul spoke to the relationship of a husband and wife, and even said, it was his own thoughts on the matter (1 Corinthians 7). He spoke specific to the behavior of men and women in the churches, bidding women cover their heads and men not to have long hair. He forbade women to be ministers. These were cultural of the day and needful to obtain order where there had been none. He spoke, in a place, against women wearing jewelry. What was meant for that group of believers, in a historical time, does not necessarily apply to all cultures today. Just as we would not travel to certain countries and do what offends them today, he was using his authority, given him by the Spirit, to prevent people from giving or taking offense. Here is what we are supposed to glean. We cannot do everything we want the way we want when it is arrogant or meant to hurt someone. It is not our job to “put someone in their place.” We are not here to make people feel stupid.

I remember a Bugs Bunny cartoon where he was a modern rabbit in an ancient folk tale, stepping on the toes of everyone who didn’t understand his modern perspective. As funny as that was to a child of the 1970s, in the context of “love one another,” we must always consider the other person. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” Meaning, God’s love in us is fervent and dedicated to forgiving others and not causing them to sin.

God is not hung up on the outward appearance. He looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7), and that is Paul’s overall meaning. He was not saying when a man has long hair or when a woman uncovers her head, she has sinned. There is no truth to this today. God calls women into the ministry all the time. He used them then, as is mentioned in the gospels, where women followed Jesus and funded His travels (Mark 15:41), and in Acts and Paul’s epistles, where they are mentioned by name. If we walked in the Spirit and let Him teach us, instead of our teaching ourselves, we would not be tripped up by this.

It seems simple and like it can be overlooked, but these misunderstandings are displayed all over the four gospels where Jesus healed the sick and cast out devils, yet the religious leaders were more concerned with keeping the law and getting onto people and soon turned to murder. But it began with a smaller thought.

“Jesus looked at them, angry at the depth of selfishness infecting their hearts and distressed at their lack of compassion, then he turned to the man and said, ‘Extend your hand and be well.’ The man immediately lifted his hand and used it normally, as it was completely healed. Then those religious leaders and theology professors who taught a legal religion went out and found some local politicians of the Herodian party and plotted with them how they might kill Jesus.” (Mark 3:5-6, Remedy)

What made Judas, Judas? He began as a learner, listening to Jesus and following in His footsteps. He was sent out to preach the good news, lay hands on the sick, and cast out devils. Yet, at the Passover meal, Satan entered him (John 13:37), and he chose to betray, not just Jesus, but the Father and the Holy Spirit, who had anointed him. It began with a single thought that he allowed to take root and to form incorrect, sinful thinking. What was wrong no longer seemed wrong.

We cannot change God’s truths to suit us. A woman can worship with her head uncovered in these United States today. She can preach the gospel and minister to the sick. She can sing and wear ripped jeans and cowboy boots. A man can have excessive tattoos and a strange hairstyle, and God adores him for his love of the Word of God and his love for people. A man CANNOT marry a man, nor a woman a woman. The difference is that is called sin in God’s Word. To murder infants in the womb is and always will be sin. We cannot take innocent life. God forgives those who are truly sorry. Again, we can see Paul, who murdered untold thousands of people, yet became Jesus’ friend.

We cannot take what is sin and make it acceptable.

People should look at us and see Jesus. We must look like the love of God which would die, even for those who mocked and humiliated it. Many priests who jeered at Jesus saw Him as Christ after the Spirit fell at Pentecost following His Resurrection. God neither refused them salvation nor gave them a different type, since they’d acted like they had. They didn’t have to do extra penance for how they’d behaved, and when they finally died, they saw Him face-to-face just like all the others who’d believed from the start. God is merciful. This is who He is throughout the Word. It is who He’s made us to be, and our behavior should reflect it. Our revelation of God’s truth must mirror Him. In knowledge and action, but also in principle. What is frivolous argument should be let go of and replaced by love, joy, and peace.

“But if any place opposes you or refuses to listen, don’t waste time fighting to be heard; just shake off the rejection like dust off your feet, and your grace in the face of rejection will be a witness to them.” (Mark 6:11, Remedy)

“Don’t get involved in arguing over unanswerable questions and controversial theological ideas; keep out of arguments and quarrels about obedience to Jewish laws, for this kind of thing isn’t worthwhile; it only does harm.” (Titus 3:9, TLB)

“But stay away from people who argue about silly questions and about lists of people’s families’ names from years ago. Refuse to quarrel. Refuse to argue about God’s rules. Those kinds of things are not good and they do not help anyone.” (Titus 3:9, EasyEnglish)

Image by Hermann Traub from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com