Excuse Me Officer...It Seemed Like the Right Thing To Do

I Chronicles 13:4
And all the congregation said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

This passage concerns the moving of the Ark of the Covenant (that gold box from Raiders of the Lost Ark) to Jerusalem. The people said...."Hmmmm! It seems okey dokey to me. Lets do it." The moving wasn't the bad part. It was the way the people decided to transport the Ark. Their way cost a man his life. Well, that doesn't sound fair. Truth be known, God doesn't deal in fairness, especially when it is the mind of sinful man that is deciding what is fair and what isn't.

I only want "fair" when it benefits me.
I only want "fair" when I don't get my way.
I only want "fair" when it is something I really want.
Well, I have learned that God has a definite plan and way to approach Him.
Just like the people in the I Chronicles passage, they decided on how they would approach God and it cost them.
They took it upon themselves to act in a manner that was contrary to the way God had given in Scripture.
On the surface, it looked like a good deed. "Let's bring the Ark back to Jerusalem!" But it was the way they brought the Ark back. It wasn't the way God had laid out for the Ark to be transported. Their selfishness and lack of respect for God cost a man his life. As the Ark was placed on a cart and was being take back to the city, one of the oxen stumbled and the Ark shifted. A man named Uzza reached out to steady the Ark and when he touched it, he died.

How much of what I do are things that seem "right" in my own eyes but are an offense to God. I can even do religious deeds that have no use or be blessed by God. Why? Because I did not consult God on whether or not He wanted me to do it. I heard Dudley Hall say, "How would you like to spend your whole life baking apple pies for God, only to discover that God doesn't like apple pie." It would be a wasted effort.
I don't want to waste myself on things that aren't pleasing to God. I don't want to fall prey to only doing what "seems right in my own eyes." I want to be obedient and listen for God's instruction and they carry it out.

Sure do hope I learn and grow up before I grow older.
Never forget---God is love. Not that God loves, or God created love....God is, by His very nature, love. And for this reason, His heart is for us. He desires to communicate His will to us. Not only that, beyond the communication, He desires to empower us to carry out that will. So don't waste yourself on your own soulish nature. Spend your energy listening for God. Then follow!

God on you....
mb