“We have a natural propensity to change the rules on God.”

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-01-21) from his book, Louder Than Words: The Power of Uncompromised Living (Kindle Locations 912-913). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

He then continues and says, “We tend to change His commands to fit our personality, our present lifestyle, or our current circumstances.”

Now I read that and thought about some of the stands politically that I read on Facebook of the things that Christians are up in arms about that in reality go against the character standard that Christ shares in His Word.  And I was ready to use this as an opportunity to lash out at our inconsistencies but it then hit me of the character stands He takes on this matter of judging others and that stopped me in my tracks. I don’t believe that if I am a man of character that I can be judgmental.  I can’t and I won’t. 

But we must each as individuals determine where we are going to set the standards by which we live.  Oh I understand the circumstances that one can be in when it comes to having a job and the fear that someone coming from another country will come in and take it away.  And that can be a major fear if we are looking at the world as the place of our security but as a Christ follower it is God who we put our trust in.  As least that is what the Bible says. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  And lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”  

But we must be very careful in changing God’s commands for whatever reason we use.  Andy says, “When we change God’s standard, it isn’t God’s standard anymore. Unknowingly, we create a caricature of Christianity— one that doesn’t accurately reflect what God truly thinks. Instead, it exaggerates certain features, distorts some, and minimizes others.”

And I’m afraid we’re headed down the path that is built on our own understanding and our own circumstances and it is not God’s path and we don’t even know it.

So what standards are you following?