Christian Living

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December 13, 2011 – Knowing Better

23 He went up from Jericho to Bethel. On the way, young [maturing and accountable] boys came out of the city and mocked him and said to him, Go up [in a whirlwind], you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead! 24 And he turned around and looked at them and called a curse down on them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and ripped up forty-two of the boys. – 2 Kings 2:23-24 AMP

The he in this passage is the prophet Elisha. Elisha had just received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit as he saw Elijah taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. When I first read this passage a few years ago I just thought Elisha was one really cruel guy. What grown man couldn’t take a bunch of kids picking on him? Different versions of the Bible describe this group as boys and even youths. But the Amplified tells the tale here; they were young boys who were accountable for their actions. They were not a bunch of ten year-olds on the playground. They were a gang at least in their mid to late teenage years, and they certainly knew better than to taunt one of God’s prophets. As a result of their teasing, forty-two of them paid the ultimate price of their lives. Many professed Christians today are just like these young men; they know what they do is wrong, but they choose to do it anyway.

Christians come from all walks of life. In their former lives, Christians have been murderers, adulterers, cheats, liars, alcoholics, drug addicts, and thieves. But God loves all of us the same. It has been hard and even distressful at times for me to grasp that concept, especially when I consider that He loves the murderer on death row as much as He loves me. But He does. In knowing that Christians are such a diverse group, it makes things tricky at times trying to address multitudes, but let’s get real for a minute: either you or someone you know really knows better than to do some of the things you do.

For example, let’s look at alcohol. Church leaders are supposed to steer clear of the stuff (1 Timothy 3), yet I know church leaders who will claim that as long as they don’t get drunk, it’s okay. Then we have to consider that drunkenness for one person is not the same as for another, so now a whole scale of relativity has to be figured into the equation. One person can have six drinks before they’re drunk, and another can have twelve. All that tells me is that the one who has more has a tolerance already built up and can really hold the effects better. The recovering alcoholic knows not to go near the stuff, yet Christians, who have the Bible as their guide, read between the lines and justify their actions. If the truth were to surface, we would find out that they know better.

Christians know better because we do have the Bible. But let’s look a little closer. We know murder and theft are forbidden in the Bible, but they are also illegal in society as well. Basic laws of morality govern our society but are also laid out in the Bible. But some things are strictly prohibited in the Bible, i.e. homosexuality and adultery, yet they are not considered illegal by the world. Because such practices are prevalent in society, there is always a group that allows such activities in Christian circles. They call it being inclusive and tolerant. But in actuality it’s just a bunch of people trying to justify something they know better than do.

Even marriages are being violated in this area. Men, do you honor your wife? For years I have seen men verbally tear their wives down in the presence of other men. They call them names, complain about them, and just talk negatively about marriage in general.

4 Let marriage be held in honor (esteemed worthy, precious, of great price, and especially dear) in all things. And thus let the marriage bed be undefiled (kept undishonored); for God will judge and punish the unchaste [all guilty of sexual vice] and adulterous. – Hebrews 13:4 AMP

Is your marriage held in honor? Is it precious above every earthly thing to you? Is it especially dear to you above anything else? It’s time for your marriage to be where God wants it to be.

15 And did not God make [you and your wife] one [flesh]? Did not One make you and preserve your spirit alive? And why [did God make you two] one? Because He sought a godly offspring [from your union]. Therefore take heed to yourselves, and let no one deal treacherously and be faithless to the wife of his youth. – Malachi 2:15 AMP

Men, do not be faithless to your wife. This has more to do than with just infidelity. If you tear your wife down to friends or family, you are not being faithful. If you talk negatively about her to your children, you are not being faithful. Your faithfulness to your wife should outweigh anything the world, friends, or family throws at you. Because we have God’s Word, we know better than to let any of them let us astray in this area.

Do you know better than to do some of the things you do? Do you know what the Bible says about things that pertain to your life and ignore them? Your choices may not cause you to be ripped apart by a bear, but your final outcome through compromise could be just as bad. It’s up to you to choose the right path if you truly know better.

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