Whom Do You Serve?

Bottom Line: Today’s blogcast covers how it is easy to try and do things our own way when God’s way doesn’t make sense to us. This comes because trust in Him is being grown through the time we are going through. Sometimes it’s rough but to endure to the end we have to be humble and admit that we don’t know it all and never will. 

 

Main Article

The initial title this article had at the start was “Don’t Make an Ishmael” but as with many first titles they get changed as the idea is developed. Hence the current title for today. So what am I talking about? This phrase is one that I believe John Bevere first coined in one of his early books only for it to remain as one of his common phrases. It is of course a reference to Ishmael the son of Abraham and Hagar Sarah’s Egyptian slave. Ishmael was born because Sarah didn’t have the trust to believe that God would provide her a son for she had been barren all her life up until Isaac was born. Eventually, once Sarah has enough faith she tells Abraham to send off Hagar and Ishmael for he was not to be the one who was of the promise. The apostle Paul makes this very clear in Galatians 4 when he writes these words to the church in Galatia as directions for how they ought to live by the spirit and not by the ways of the flesh. Using Abraham as an example of how we can do things our way or God’s way; metaphorical sons if you will.

“His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.”

“But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”

Galatians 4:23 and Verse 30 NIV

If a Christian wants to inherit the things of God’s promises we must be willing to surrender the things that are dearest to us. If you read the full account of when Hagar and Ishmael were sent away we see that Abraham first inquired of the Lord to see if he should do this thing. From here I take it as evidence that he loved Ishmael just as he would later love Isaac whom he also had to offer up to God in obedience. 

For Abraham, and as for any good man, being a father is “the thing” we want to be. Whether it is our own biological children or being a mentor to others younger than us we all want to be leaders in our own right. Fatherhood is just the one with the ultimate responsibility, and maybe even status, for this. And that’s why so many of us men seek to get married and become fathers, myself included. 

(Has anyone not yet read my Valentine’s special where I mentioned I got engaged last year in October? I will make an effort to provide links to that for those of you who want to read it. Cheesy self-promotion? Yes. Do I have any shame in doing so? Nope, since I believe I am promoting to you a quality product.)

Going back to our focus, I believe that Abraham loved both of his sons and so to do this to send one off was not an easy thing. But in this, we find a common principle about life. A choice must be made between what we do. Sometimes it is binary where you must choose between two options while other times it is a crossroads where more than one path has been presented to you. Jesus gives it to us this way in Matthew 6:24.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Matthew 6:24 NIV

When you look at scripture you need to know the context around a verse and this segment is from a part that deals with our treasures. Telling us to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven rather than on earth where thieves can break in and steal or moths and vermin destroy. With these descriptions, he was talking about wealth, good clothing, and fine food. All of the things that we would love to have.

Writing this at my current stage in life I have found myself doing some thinking as a result of work requiring me to do some overtime that cuts into my ability to do other things. Primarily to write blogcasts and stories, read stories, prepare things for get-togethers with my fiancé, and build deeper friendships with those my age in Church. 

The only reason I’m even able to keep these blogcasts on a regular schedule is that I am able to write two or three of them per weekend by God’s grace. And all of these things make me wonder whom am I truly serving. 

I do not believe in quitting when things get tough and I am also one who believes that we are meant to serve God through our diligence in what He has called us to do. That is why I have remained at my job despite the overtime and why I am going to remain until the Lord releases me from there for I know that I am currently serving Him in that location. 

While Jesus was speaking about wealth in that section it was focussing on where our heart was placed and what we actually value. Scripture is clear to us that we have a fight going on between what nature has dominion over our lives. I have covered that topic with greater detail in my previous blogcast “Simple Yet Profound” but the quick overview is that we have the soul and the spirit. Our selfish nature wants to decide for itself what to do but it is the Spirit of God who is supposed to be in control. 

It has taken a bit of time for me to get to this point but this is what I want us to think about. When we make decisions or do things that seem to be a new opportunity they may not be of the Spirit but instead of the soul that doesn’t want to do things God’s way. And that is the main danger for a Christian who is working on a project. For me, it’s this ministry but to someone else, it is a different item of interest that we are being called to do above and beyond the quote “normal” things. 

Ishmaels are made due to a lack of trust in God and by not obeying Him through either commission, doing something else, or omission, not doing as we were told to do. That trust is only grown by knowing Him and making the effort to come closer to God through talking with Him also known as prayer and Bible reading to see what He has said to others in the past but also wants to pass on to you as well. One thing that I feel must be said here before I feel comfortable to begin wrapping this all up is that God is not a vending machine. It is not a formulaic thing; insert trust here, wait 1 week, and receive the promise. It’s more like; “let’s build this together I am bringing all of the materials and will show you how to do this properly.”

One of the things that scripture makes clear to us is that God’s knowledge and understanding will far outweigh our own. Many of us understand that but of that number, I find that there is a lesser number that actually accepts this truth in life. In order to accept a fundamental fact like this we need to let go of pride which tells us that we know better than God. If we really stop and think about it pride has been the root cause of our sufferings as a part of creation. God may just be having me write this to remind myself of this fact since I know I’ve heard this enough times that I’m sick of hearing about it but it was pride that caused Lucifer to try and overthrow God. His name Lucifer simply means shining one. Reading Isaiah’s and Ezekiel’s passages that refer to the fall of satan we find out some things about why he was called Shining One. He was inlaid with many ornate stones that could easily reflect the light from the Most High thus making him sparkle with elegance and radiance. It is speculated by Bible scholars that he became obsessed with his own beauty forgetting from whom it came and thus thinking he should become like and replace the Most High. 

One could also say that we have a sense of being entitled to things from God as well when it comes to stuff and situations. A common point is when a loved one gets sick and dies. Often times we ask God why did they have to die but the answer is so that He would not be a liar. When Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil they had been forewarned that in eating it they would die. Death is never once called evil in the scriptures but it is acknowledged as a result of sin and also proves that Satan is the father of lies. For a 22-year-old I am well acquainted with death and know the pain it causes especially when that person didn’t know Jesus as their savior. At those points in life, it is humility which says; “I don’t understand, I hurt, this is hard, and I still am going to trust you. Help me with this because again, it’s hard.” 

If pride leads to disobedience and death then humility leads to obedience and life which is what I am going to finish with today. Pride causes us to act in ways that may seem right but are truly not and cause us to be led away from God’s plans. The road to hell is said to be paved by good intentions and I find that while not a quote from the Bible, the phrase does have some truth to it. The intention of Adam and Eve when they ate was to become wise as the serpent had told them they would become. In the same way, when we do what we think is a good thing that is something other than what we were told to do we get bitten in the butt. 

On that note, I think we are at a good point to end it for today. Until next time, Courage and God be with you.