Re:Verse reading–1 Samuel 15 (day two)
But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” vs. 14
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:8-9
What is your first response after you sin? What happens when you are confronted in your sin by a friend, family member, or the Lord? Adam tried to cover up his shame by making excuses. Saul flat out lied. What is it in us that compels us to compound sin with sin? Whatever the case we would all do well to heed these stories as cautionary tales for our own lives. If God has given you a command, instruction, or directive – don’t deviate. His way is always better.
Sins feed more sins unless corrections or punishments are imposed. If we commit sins, in my view, we must have the courage to admit, to ask for forgiveness and not to repeat the same sins.
God is the Ruler of the Universe. There are other rules that human beings created on earth. God’s rules are for eternity; human beings’ rules are for family, organizational and societal order. I am not aware that God demands that we drop any rules of earthy living but He does expect that we obey and follow His rules for eternity.
Earthy rules and eternal rules are in conflict to one another sometimes. Convicted earthly criminals will be trialed in the human beings’ court of law; convicted moral criminals will be trialed in God’s court of divine law. We have not yet seen God’s court of devine law by our own eyes but only by faith, but we know what the earthy, human beings’ court of law is like! It is not fun I can imagine! It is embarrassing for anyone to appear in court for unethical and immoral acts.
I do believe hiding our mistakes or sins is not wise. Why? There are always reasons why people do as they do or why they did as they did. Confront them from our sincere hearts and change course if we discover that those sins or mistakes will hurt us in the long run. It is about our benefits, earthly or eternal benefits. No need to hide. Talk about them, admit, ask for forgiveness and not to repeat again if God through the Holy Spirit pointed out to us what we have violated.
If there are ethical or moral violations or unpleasant motives, as soon as we discover by self-awareness or by God, promptly admit, correct and move forward. Ask God to grant us a new life if we violate moral rules! In life, we will make mistakes and we will sin, intentionally or unintentionally. All we need to do is to keep listening to God, to ourselves and to make corrective attitudes and behaviors. With God’s help, everything is possible.
After all, each of us needs to decide if we like to have both worlds, earthy and eternity, or just earthy, or just eternity. We must be realistic about what we believe in and know that there are both rewards and consequences for whatever we choose!!
I totally agreed, “If God has given you a command, instruction, or directive – don’t deviate.” God is the Ruler of the Universe and if He directs us, we must be in total obedience to avoid God’s punishments! I must trust God more than any humans!! Humans are deceitful; God is trustworthy!! Humans measure us through our outward appearances; God measures us through our hearts. At the end, it matters between us and God!