Do Not Do As They Do
Two of the chapters in today's Bible reading have to do with our behavior. (Leviticus 18 and 1 Timothy 3). The Lord told Moses to tell the Israelites that they must not do as the Egyptians where they had come from, or the Canaanites, where they were going. His instructions had to do with sexual immorality and offering their children to Molech, which also involved sexual immorality. The instructions in 1 Timothy 3 were directed to leaders, but are good advice for all of us and have mostly to do with family relationships. Paul said he was writing to them so they would know how they ought to conduct themselves in God's household, of which we are members.
Our modern world is filled with sexual immorality of every kind and sad to say, it happens in the church also. Christian families often have difficulty with their relationships with each other; husband/wife, parents/children. God is saying to us that we must not do as the world does.
I do medical transcription for doctors offices and am saddened over and over as I type by the numbers of girls as young as 13 who are sexually active and on birth control pills with the approval of their mothers. The majority of the women who come into these clinics are not married but living with a boyfriend, or having multiple sexual partners. And that's just one little area of the world. Multiply that by thousands and thousands of communities across the world. But in spite of the trend of the world, God is calling us to a different, higher standard. We are to teach our children the godly way to live and to teach by our way of life. We are not to do as they do.
Solomon was known as the wisest man in the world, yet his wisdom did not filter down into his way of life. he took 300 wives and 600 concubines. At the end of his life his pronouncement was that everything is meaningless (Ecclesiastes 1) A sad contrast to what David wrote in Psalm 16:1 (KJV) "In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
We are surrounded by conditions on every hand that are contrary to the way of life that God intends us to lead and it's possible to assume that because everyone else is doing it, it's okay. But it's not okay with God and never will be. He doesn't lower his standard because of prevalent world conditions but expects us to raise ours to meet his standards. He told the Israelites "do not do as they do" and he is telling us the same thing today.
Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. He has given us the power and ability to overcome.
Tomorrows Bible Reading - Leviticus 19, Psalm 23-24, Ecclesiastes 2, 1 Timothy 4
God is good all the time,
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