What Seemed Right

In the Church, many are experiencing a drift away from the absolutes of Scripture. Some of this has taken place because we sent our future leaders off to compromised seminaries and colleges. They came home to occupy our pulpits with an education that has either explained away parts of Scripture or reinterpreted it to a place of dismissal. What has caused an acceptance of the reinterpretation and dismissal is our uncomfortableness about the harder truths expressed in God’s word. At our best, ^“Our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!” (I Corinthians 13:9).

The last verse in the book of Judges reveals a repeated downfall of the people of God, “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Israel had no king because they abandoned the standard of truth.

God’s word, not our feelings or impressions about what we think is right or wrong, must be what leads our lives and forms our opinions. If not, we will establish a personal government of self-regulation where error waits in the wings to be expressed.

The phrase “whatever seemed right in their own eyes” has been defined as what is “convenient”, “equitable” or, “pleasing. That phrase has also been interpreted as to “twist what is straight.” It creates a path of error without the boundaries of truth that stems from a king-less interpretation of what seems right to us, but not God.

At one time, Timothy was struggling with what to do during a difficult time in his leadership. Paul said that when those times come, when in doubt, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (II Timothy 4:2). Paul was telling Timothy to preach the word of God, not his opinions or an educated compromise of the truth. After preaching the word, those hearing Timothy’s preaching would be able to align their lives with that truth, not with their emotions or any error of theology they picked up along the way “When people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth” (Ephesians 4:14. 

In the end, the preaching of God’s uncompromising word will reveal the heart of God. God’s heart and His intention are not always easy to understand at first, but over time the clarity of His truth will align our lives with His purpose, a purpose not always seen when we were doing what seemed right in our own eyes.

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Garris Elkins

Featured Image by peachknee from Pixabay

About the Author

Garris Elkins is a Kingdom Winds Contributor. He and his wife, Jan, serve the global Church through writing, speaking, and mentoring. They live in southern Oregon, tucked away in the foothills of the Rogue Valley. Their shared desire is to have each person learn how to hear the heart of God and become a transforming voice in their culture.

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