"Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:"
Ezekiel 13:22
This chapter is directed to false prophets--people who "prophesy out of their own hearts" (verse 2). Hopefully we aren't posing as prophets and claiming that God has said things that he hasn't, but I think that this is also a good reminder to us all about justifying our own actions or own opinions to make God's word sound more or less than it is.
We can contribute to making the righteous sad if we claim that God requires more of them than he does, or enforce our personal opinions of obedience. We can also harm people by telling them that they don't need to repent or that some commandment isn't really that big of a deal to God. We don't typically mean to harm people by saying things like that, but sometimes in our desire to appear awesome, or to provide comfort, we suggest that God expects much more or much less than he does.
Today, let's be careful not to misrepresent the Lord or his gospel. Let's not lie to people to make them feel better, or to make ourselves feel better. Let's try to share our stories without enforcing our own opinions, and encourage each other to grow closer to God. :)
Ezekiel 13:22
This chapter is directed to false prophets--people who "prophesy out of their own hearts" (verse 2). Hopefully we aren't posing as prophets and claiming that God has said things that he hasn't, but I think that this is also a good reminder to us all about justifying our own actions or own opinions to make God's word sound more or less than it is.
We can contribute to making the righteous sad if we claim that God requires more of them than he does, or enforce our personal opinions of obedience. We can also harm people by telling them that they don't need to repent or that some commandment isn't really that big of a deal to God. We don't typically mean to harm people by saying things like that, but sometimes in our desire to appear awesome, or to provide comfort, we suggest that God expects much more or much less than he does.
Today, let's be careful not to misrepresent the Lord or his gospel. Let's not lie to people to make them feel better, or to make ourselves feel better. Let's try to share our stories without enforcing our own opinions, and encourage each other to grow closer to God. :)
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