"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts."
Proverbs 21:2 (NKJV)
Recently I saw a bumper sticker that read, "Do as you wish". My initial reaction was that this is a poor standard to live life by and it reminded me of a saying that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s where people proclaimed, "If it feels good, do it". While these two statements are very similar neither of them can be found in the Bible, at least in a good sense. However, these two statements represent the way that many people believe they should be able to live. Many people have the idea that true freedom and liberty is found in being able to do what you want to do and in expressing yourself.
There are several Bible verses that deal with this idea of a person doing whatever they believe is right. Proverbs 21:2 and Proverbs 16:2 both talk about a person considering what they do to be right but God weighs, or measures, the heart, the spirit. Our outward actions may please us and make us feel good but no matter what a person does on the outside God knows what is happening on the inside. What are our motives for doing what we do? Are we simply being selfish and looking for personal satisfaction or do we consider others and even God with how we live our life?
Some people, including Christians, think the main goal in life is to be happy and that this is achieved through self-expression and personal fulfillment. The problem with that is that it is all about our feelings and desires without any consideration necessarily being given to what God want us to do and how our actions impact others. What we do may make us happy but does it make God happy? Is what we are doing right in our own eyes but offensive to others? Does our lifestyle agree with what the Bible teaches or only with current trends in society? To live a truly successful life that pleases God we cannot just do what we please but our goal must be to please God and live a life that reflects Him and His Word to others.
Proverbs 21:2 (NKJV)
Recently I saw a bumper sticker that read, "Do as you wish". My initial reaction was that this is a poor standard to live life by and it reminded me of a saying that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s where people proclaimed, "If it feels good, do it". While these two statements are very similar neither of them can be found in the Bible, at least in a good sense. However, these two statements represent the way that many people believe they should be able to live. Many people have the idea that true freedom and liberty is found in being able to do what you want to do and in expressing yourself.
There are several Bible verses that deal with this idea of a person doing whatever they believe is right. Proverbs 21:2 and Proverbs 16:2 both talk about a person considering what they do to be right but God weighs, or measures, the heart, the spirit. Our outward actions may please us and make us feel good but no matter what a person does on the outside God knows what is happening on the inside. What are our motives for doing what we do? Are we simply being selfish and looking for personal satisfaction or do we consider others and even God with how we live our life?
Some people, including Christians, think the main goal in life is to be happy and that this is achieved through self-expression and personal fulfillment. The problem with that is that it is all about our feelings and desires without any consideration necessarily being given to what God want us to do and how our actions impact others. What we do may make us happy but does it make God happy? Is what we are doing right in our own eyes but offensive to others? Does our lifestyle agree with what the Bible teaches or only with current trends in society? To live a truly successful life that pleases God we cannot just do what we please but our goal must be to please God and live a life that reflects Him and His Word to others.
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