This is the fifth in a series of blogs on The Righteousness of God as a part of the Armor of God.
How many times have you heard, “That’s just common sense!” Those who believe the Bible to be absolute truth agree that much of it is just common sense. However, many today consider the Bible just an old book written long ago. They believe that we have evolved so much since it was written that we are now more enlightened. Therefore, we don’t need to follow what the Bible says because it can’t possibly apply anymore. It’s too old and out of date!
But in Proverbs 8:12-16 wisdom said to us, “I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech. Common sense and success belong to me. Insight and strength are mine. Because of me, kings reign, and rulers make just decrees. Rulers lead with my help, and nobles make righteous judgments.”
A key point in Proverbs 8:13 is “All who fear the Lord will hate evil”. Those who think we are so enlightened often can’t distinguish good from evil. Of course, they have their definition of what evil is; murder, robbery, the big and obvious stuff. But because they live life as it pleases them, there are many forms of evil they overlook; pride, arrogance, corruption, perverted thoughts and perverted speech. They use humanity as their standard and over time throughout history, humanity has become more liberal and tolerant of evil.
As people reject God’s truth, they also persecute God’s preachers and prophets to justify their own beliefs. Their rejection of God’s truth leads them to accept a form of atheism which they defend as though it were a life and death matter to them. As a result, they cannot tolerate disagreement with their beliefs because they believe it attacks the very core of their existence and their desire to live as they please. This also leads to disagreements with different people groups because when there is no absolute authority, everyone can believe what they want. Just look at the many conflicts around the world because people cannot get along with each other. But when we use God’s word as our absolute standard, there is consistency, and things become much clearer as we trust God and not the world.
All we have to do is look at each major empire that rose and fell throughout the last 3,000 or more years of history. When an empire first appeared, there was a moral foundation that made it strong and united. But as that empire became more prosperous, that moral foundation was eroded away by the pleasures people enjoyed while they were prosperous. Also, as their moral foundation eroded, they became more divided within and their unity turned into political disharmony.
So, people trusting in humanity have been disappointed in the past and they will be disappointed in the future as well. In fact, those who put their complete hope in humanity become extremely fearful, and even fanatical, when their foundational beliefs are threatened. Just look at some of the recent campaigns lead by humanists; global warming, environmental protections, national healthcare, etc. I don’t want to diminish the importance of these issues, but some of the people involved in promoting them act as though life as we know it will become extinct unless we do what they say. The irony of it is that if mankind would simply follow the instructions of our creator, these global problems would be under control.
So, when wisdom says, “I, wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment”, we should listen. If the Lord hates evil, we should find out what evil He hates and avoid it; this includes pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted thoughts and speech. We should vote for leaders who fear the Lord and encourage them to abide by the Lord’s wisdom and truth, and to enact just laws. All too often world leaders put their faith in human counselors who are blinded by their own motives and political ambitions. These human counselors often offer bad advice (Isaiah 19:11-15), and leaders who listen to them are led down a path to destruction (Ezekiel 28:2-10).
If our Creator gave us His word to live by, then we should use it as the absolute instruction book for our lives and abide by it. Then our prosperity and happiness will be built on the solid foundation of God’s wisdom; not on the flimsy foundation of humanity. It’s just common sense; shaken not stirred.
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All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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